Going down
by ReadingYourThoughts
Summary: It's going down. You won't be able to stop it. Enjoy their deaths. Delapsus sum.
1. Prologue

**Here is a new story! Case fic. ****Just a quick prologue to see if you're interested in this.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds.**

**And now, with no further ado, here's "Going down."**

* * *

**Prologue**

**BAU Headquarters – 8:55 am**

Morgan's mobile phone started to ring.

"Morgan."

"_Hey, it's Reid. Do we have a case?"_

"Not yet. You're running late! I didn't think I'd live to see this day" said Morgan with a smile on his face.

"_Yeah, yeah, very funny. I'll be there as soon as possible. Please, tell Hotch."_

"Reid, it's OK to be late once in a while, you know? Daddy Hotch won't punish you for that" answered Morgan, teasing his co-worker.

"_Whatever, just tell him. I'll see you in 10 minutes."_ The call was over.

Morgan hung up the phone and said to Prentiss: "Reid is running late."

"Well, that's new." Emily said looking at her desk. "If we don't have a case today, we'll be doing paperwork all day, so he can be here later. And you know what?"

"What?" Morgan liked Emily's teasing eyes. She was cooking up something evil and he liked that. Even more if Reid was the victim.

"We could give him some of our folders, just as punishment for being late" explained Prentiss.

"That's good, although we always do that" said Morgan adding some of his folders to the pile of folders on Reid's desk.

"You're right. Anyways, it'll be less work for us, so..." Emily had added five more cases to Reid's pile.

**9 am**

"911. What's your emergency?" said the operator.

"_I'm Delapsus Sum. It's going down. You won't be able to stop it. It's your fault. Enjoy their deaths. You have five hours."_

"Sir? What's going down? Sir?" The line was dead.

**9:30 am**

"We've got a case" said JJ almost running to the BAU meeting room.

"The 911 operator received this call at 9 am" explained JJ to the whole team, minus Reid.

"_I'm Delapsus Sum. It's going down. You won't be able to stop it. It's your fault. Enjoy their deaths. You have five hours."_ They heard the UNSUB's phone call.

"He's done this before in an apartment building in Florida. There was a bomb in the elevator shaft. After an hour, the elevator fell two floors. After two hours, it fell three floors. After three hours, it fell four floors. Then, five floors. And lastly, it fell four more floors, until it got to ground level and the bomb exploded. He killed four people. Now, it's in the Psychology Department Building at Strayer University, 10 miles from here." Hotch and his team were already studying the different aspects of the case.

"We have the video of the elevator in Florida and we're waiting to receive the live stream video of the one at the university" added Garcia.

At that moment, Morgan's phone started ringing. The caller ID informed him that it was Reid.

"Hey, we have a case. Reid, where are you, man?" said Morgan to his phone, looking at the horrible photos of the victim's after the explosion of the Florida elevator.

"_I'm sorry, I was on my way."_

"Well, hurry up." Hotch looked at Morgan. They had to start working on the profile to try to catch the UNSUB in less than 5 hours.

"_Oh... well, I'm just stuck in an elevator. As soon as I'm out, I'll - -"_ was explaining Reid, before Morgan interrupted him.

"What did you say?"

Reid caught the concern in Morgan's voice. _"What? I'm stuck in an elevator, but we've already call maintenance."_

"Where exactly are you, Reid?" Morgan got to his feet. Hotch saw that he was growing more and more worried and wondered what that was all about.

"_I'm in the Psychology Department Building at Strayer University. Why?__"_ asked Reid.

Just then, Garcia said out loud: "We have the image."

"Oh, God" whispered Emily.

"_Morgan?"_

"I see you" said Morgan to his friend on the phone.

"_What?"_

Morgan was looking at the black and white image of a confused Reid on the phone inside the elevator that in less than 30 minutes would start going down.

* * *

**So, let me know what you think. As soon as I finish my other story, I'll start with this one. Don't worry, I have the whole thing planned.**


	2. Chapter I

**Hi, guys! I'm sorry it took me sooo loonggg to update, but my beautiful twin nieces were born this week and I've been with them every free minute I've got.**

**I want to thank you all for reading and reviewing this new story of mine. I hope it lives up to your expectations.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do have one gorgeous nephew, two goddaughters and two twin nieces, but I do not have the rights of CM. And I don't own Strayer University or anything like that.**

**Enjoy! Let the fun begin!**

* * *

Chapter I

It was 8 of a beautiful autumn morning. The sky was clear, not one cloud to be seen, the temperature was a bit higher than expected for this time of year; the chilly wind of the previous days had vanished into thin air, something more than appreciated by the morning joggers who run through the almost empty streets around the park in front of Strayer University.

The university parking lot was slowly coming to life with cars, scooters and trucks arriving from all four corners. SSA Dr. Spencer Reid was in one of those cars. After parking in the visitor's section, he went to the Psychology Department Building. He had a meeting in the 18th floor with Professor Edmund Ellison.

Spencer Reid arrived to his door and knocked. Immediately, the door opened and an old, white-haired man with kind eyes greeted the agent, smiling.

"Dr. Reid. It's so good to see you."

"Good morning, Professor. I brought the papers you asked me for." Professor Ellison was doing a research on the genetics of schizophrenia. Even though, Spencer Reid knew almost everything on the topic, he was more than willing to help develop new theories, and deep inside, he still hoped to find a cure for a disease that had had such devastating effects on his own personal life.

It was 8:50 when the FBI agent left the professor's office. He knew he'd be getting late for work, and in spite of the fact that his co-workers, mostly Morgan and Prentiss, were used to arriving late at the BAU offices, Reid felt compelled to be on time or even earlier. Even if he tried, he was a creature of habits and he seriously hated unpunctuality.

Heading at a fast pace towards the elevator, he punched Morgan's phone number into his phone.

"_Morgan."_

"Hey, it's Reid. Do we have a case?" asked Reid. If they did in fact had a case, he'd be in trouble because he was 10 miles away from Quantico and the traffic at that time of day would be chaotic.

"_Not yet. You're running late! I didn't think I'd live to see this day"_ Spencer could almost hear Derek's smile.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny. I'll be there as soon as possible." He got to the elevator and, with his free hand, he pushed the button to call it. At the same time, a young man in black clothes that smelled of roast beef and gravy stood beside him. The music on his earphones was so loud that Reid could actually hear the singer's high-pitched yells. Of course, Spencer didn't understand what was interesting about that kind of music. For him, that sound was a mixture of drums, guitars and someone yelling at being torture. "Please, tell Hotch" he continued.

"_Reid, it's OK to be late once in a while, you know? Daddy Hotch won't punish you for that"_answered Morgan.

A young blonde girl came rushing towards the elevator section with a heavy backpack over her shoulder and as soon as the elevator door opened, she got into and pressed the key to go to ground level. She looked at Reid who nodded, indicating her that that was his intended floor too. The smelly man with poor taste in music, as far as Spencer was concerned, just stepped into the elevator, ignoring his two companions.

"Whatever, just tell him. I'll see you in 10 minutes." Then, the FBI agent closed his phone and stashed it in his pocket.

Reid hated elevators. He always felt the need to fill the awkward silence in them when strangers would meet in such small compartments, too close one from the other.

When the doors closed, the elevator made a strange noise and the screen, where it was previously informed that they were in the 18th floor, now was blank.

"Oh, great" said the girl, sarcastically.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing" offered Reid trying to calm his own fears.

"I didn't say I was worried" snapped back the young blonde girl, who clearly wasn't a big fan of politeness.

"Although, there are six elevator-related deaths per year, not to mention ten thousand injuries that require hospitalization" said the doctor, unable to stop his words from leaving his mouth, which sometimes seemed to have a life of its own.

If looks could kill, Spencer Reid would have joined his ancestors that day. The young girl obviously wasn't interested in the statistics of elevators' misfortunes.

Not paying attention to the word exchange between the rude girl and Reid, the smelly man gave a step forward, pushed the alarm button and went back to his spot to start humming to the out-of-tune tune of the song played in his ears.

"_This is Frank, the security guard. Is everybody OK?"_ asked a voice coming from the intercom.

"Yes, we're fine, but this shitty thing is not moving. Can you fix it, please? I'm in a hurry" blurted out the impolite girl.

"_We've already called maintenance. Just hold on a couple of minutes and you'll be out"_ added the guard.

The girl just snorted as a response, so Reid felt the need to thank the guard for his efforts.

"Thank you, sir."

None of the three occupants of the elevator seemed remotely interested in talking, so they remained in tense silence, waiting to be released.

Ten minutes passed.

Twenty minutes passed.

"So, are you guys students?" asked Reid in a poor attempt to strike conversation with the two youngsters.

Of course, the black-clothed man didn't even hear Spencer over the singer's loud screams. On the other hand, the blonde, rude girl did hear him, but chose to ignore him putting on her earplugs connected to her phone and turning the music on.

Reid nodded and said: "Great." And the FBI agent went back to waiting.

Ten more minutes passed.

The doctor was trying really hard to ignore the fact that he was trapped in an elevator with two unwilling to speak people. He was getting nervous also because he would be really late for work. Morgan had said they didn't have a case yet, but the idea of spending the day with paperwork up his nose sounded better than spending one more minute in that elevator.

He grabbed his phone and called Morgan again.

"_Hey, we have a case. Reid, where are you, man?"_ Morgan didn't even try to tease him, so it sure was some case, thought Spencer.

"I'm sorry, I was on my way" said the younger agent, toying with his tie.

"_Well, hurry up."_

"Oh... well, I'm just stuck in an elevator. As soon as I'm out, I'll - -" Spencer offered as an explanation, but he was interrupted by his colleague.

"_What did you say?"_

"What?" _"Am I losing the signal here?"_ wondered Reid.

"I'm stuck in an elevator, but we've already called maintenance" explained Reid, again.

"_Where exactly are you, Reid?"_ asked Morgan.

"I'm in the Psychology Department Building at Strayer University. Why?" _"What's going on? Morgan doesn't react like this very often"_ Reid thought after answering.

"_We have the image." _The young doctor heard Penelope Garcia on the other side of the line.

"_Image of what? This new case must surely be interesting. I wish I was there to see what is going on"_ kept saying the genius to himself.

"Morgan?"

"_I see you."_

"What?" asked Reid. "See what? What do you mean?"

"_Kid, are you alright?"_ Morgan's voice was filled with worry.

"Yes, I'm fine. What the hell is going on, Morgan?" he snapped into his phone, exasperated, ignoring the curious look he received from the rude girl.

"_Reid, I'll call yo__u back. Just... wait for my call"_ said Morgan with concern tainting his voice. And before Spencer could answer or ask anything else, the call was over.

**BAU Room**

Everybody in the room was watching in disbelief at the image of their youngest team member in the elevator.

"Hotch, what are we going to do?" asked Prentiss.

"We're going to stop this son of a bitch before it's too late" answered Morgan, even though his name wasn't Hotch.

* * *

**So, there you have it! Now, I must run to the hospital to see my baby nieces. Be good. Thanks for reading. See you soon...**


	3. Chapter II

**How are my favorite readers?? Thank you so much for the nice reviews. ****And now it's time to continue with "Going down".**

**DISCLAIMER: The same as always.**

**Enjoy!!**

* * *

Chapter II

**BAU Room**

The tension in the BAU room could be cut with a knife. All the members of this elite group of profilers were too involved in this case. One of their own, Dr. Spencer Reid, the baby boy of the team, was once again in danger and they didn't have much time to solve the mystery if this particular UNSUB, who called himself Delapsus Sum.

The stern voice of the unit chief, SSA Aaron Hotchner, forced them all to start doing what they did best, to profile.

"Ok, we don't have too much time. If the UNSUB follows the same MO as last time, the elevator will fall two floors at 10 am." Hotchner checked his clock and added quietly, "We have less than 20 minutes."

Morgan closed his eyes and sighed knowing that it would be impossible to figure out the case in less than 20 minutes.

"What do we know so far?" asked Hotch.

"Well, he seems to have an obsession with things going down. His name 'Delapsus Sum' is Latin for 'falling out of control'" explained Rossi.

"But why an elevator in particular?" asked JJ.

"We still don't know. Maybe he has a connection with elevators. An accident. Family loss" answered Emily Prentiss.

"I'll check all elevator accidents in the months previous to the first attack in Florida, but don't keep your hopes high. I have to check accidents throughout the country. He's not attaching himself to a particular area" said Garcia, writing something down on a pink paper.

"We have to find out why Florida. Maybe he felt comfortable doing that before and now he feels the need to do it again" added Morgan, pacing back and forth, caught up in his thoughts.

"What do we know about the victims?" asked Hotch.

"There's no connection or whatsoever between the victims." JJ started adding pictures on the board and giving the details.

"In the Florida elevator were Michael Landau, 40, bank clerk, Juliet Mentle, 25, model, Maria Sosa, 45, maid and Gloria Palladino, 60, retired doctor. Only Landau and Palladino lived in the apartment building, Sosa was working and Miss Mentle had an interview there."

"Now, we have Sebastian Malucci, 25, restaurant delivery guy" JJ continued adding his picture.

"And as we can see, he obviously doesn't like talking" said Garcia, watching the dark-clothed guy focused on his music, without paying attention to the other two people in the elevator.

"Then we have Linda West, 20, psychology student." JJ added the picture of the blonde girl. "And finally," JJ paused to grab a picture of a smiling Spencer. "Reid." There was no need to add anything about him. They knew he was 28 years old and he was their friend.

"As JJ said, there's no connection. The victims just happened to be there, in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was luck of the draw" pondered Emily.

"Typical of Reid" chuckled Garcia, with no amusement in her voice.

"That kid must have really pissed off someone in his past life" said Rossi.

"Hotch, we have to call Reid. They have to be prepared. In 5 minutes, it'll be 10 am" said Morgan, handing him his phone.

Hotchner took the phone, breathed deeply and dialed Reid's number.

* * *

"Crap, crap, crap!"

Those words were the ones that brought SSA Dr. Spencer Reid into the real world. He'd been reliving his conversation with Morgan in his mind, remembering and studying every word. But they didn't make any sense to him. It was impossible for him to make a connection and get to the real meaning of the whole situation.

"It's impossible that this elevator misfortune can be connected to whatever case the BAU team is working on, right? I mean, I know I have bad luck, but that would be like having a black cat permanently crossing your path" thought Reid, playing with his fingers and focusing on his phone. Everything would be cleared up as soon as Morgan called him again.

The blonde rude girl gave a step forward and forcefully pushed the alarm button again.

"Hey, what the hell is going on, man? I have to get out of here today!" she yelled.

"_I'm sorry. There's been a problem. Soon someone will talk to you"_ answered Frank, the security guard.

"OK, this is not good" said Reid to himself.

"Look, it's 9:55! We've been here for almost an hour! Move your ass and fix this, good-for-nothing!" the voice of the girl was getting angrier by the minute.

As if on cue, Reid's cell started ringing.

"What's going on?" Spencer was tired of being trapped in that confined place and his voice was making it cleared.

"_Reid, it's Hotch"_ said a voice on the other side.

"Hi, Hotch. Please, tell me what's going on." Spencer was now begging for an explanation.

"Reid, we have a situation" said Hotch in a calm voice that didn't match his inner fears. In just one minute, the unit chief explained the outline of the situation, with no much details, to the doctor. Then, he said he'd talk over the intercom to inform to Reid's elevator companions what they'd need to do.

"OK, fine" answered Reid, assessing all the aspects of the information received.

"Excuse me" he said, touching the smelly guy's arm to draw his attention. "The FBI will talk to us to explain the problem with the elevator" said Reid in a small voice, also looking at the blonde girl.

"The FBI?" asked worriedly the girl.

"What the hell does the FBI have to do with this?" added Sebastian Malucci.

"_Hello, this is Aaron Hotchner, I'm with the FBI."_ Hotch's voice could be heard through the intercom. _"We've received a threat indicating that the elevator will fall two floors at 10 am. I'll ask you to please be prepared. You have less than a minute."_ He paused to let them assimilate what he'd just said. _"We're working on getting all of you out as soon as possible. Remain calm, leave your bags n the floor and grab the handrail. I'll be in communication with you the whole time."_

"_40 seconds."_ Garcia was saying on the other side.

"What the hell?" said Linda West, shocked by the words of the FBI agent. "Is this a joke?"

"No, it's not. Please, prepare yourself." Reid was already clutching at the handrail.

"_30 seconds."_

"Who are you?" asked the smelly guy from one of the elevator's corners.

"_20 seconds."_

"My name is Dr. Spencer Reid and I'm with the FBI. Now, please, remain calm and in silence" answered the young agent. His heart was racing and he felt it jumping in his throat, like trying to choke him.

Everybody in the BAU room saw as the three unlucky victims of the sick UNSUB forcefully clutched at the handrail and waited. Morgan saw how his friend closed his eyes and wished to be there by his side.

"_10 seconds."_

The air was filled with tension, making it difficult to breathe.

"_Get ready."_ They heard Hotch say.

"_Five, four, three, two.__"_

They heard three beeps and then...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The BAU team saw the image from the elevator blurred with the movement of the fall.

* * *

**There you go... First fall. Thanks for reading! See you soon.**


	4. Chapter III

**Hi there! So, here we have another chapter of "Going Down". Thank you very much for reviewing and I'm really happy you like this.**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm tired of saying this, No, CM it's not mine!!!**

**ENJOY!!**

* * *

Chapter III

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid had a split of a second to swallow and then he felt the strong force of the fall taking him down. The fall lasted just a matter of seconds, but in his mind, it seemed to last an eternity. When the descent was finally over, his body jumped in the air and then, he met the hard elevator floor with his hands, which saved him from kissing it with his face. He stayed there, lying on the cold floor, face down, eyes closed, begging his head would stop spinning around and his stomach would finally settle down. He heard someone crying. Moans filled the confined space of the elevator, but on top of all those sounds, he heard someone calling his name.

"_Reid! Reid, are you OK?"_

"Yes, I'm fine" he tried to answer to Hotch's worried words, but he just managed to nod. The movement was almost too subtle, but Hotch must have noticed it because he continued.

"_Can you sit up?"_

"In... in a minute" came Reid's whispered answer.

"_Sebastian, Linda, are you OK?"_ continued asking the BAU Unit Chief.

"I'm fine... just a bit dizzy" said the smelly guy, now known as Sebastian.

"_Linda?"_ Reid heard Hotch asking again. But there was no reply. So he pulled all his strength together, ignoring his whirling head, opened his eyes and tried to touch his female elevator buddy.

"Hey, are you OK?" Reid asked in a laborious manner.

Linda gulped a sob and nodded: "Yeah, I'm fine." She had lost all her cocky attitude in the fall.

"Hey, you, FBI man!" Sebastian was looking at the camera as if he could see Hotch on the other side. Reid got to a more comfortable sitting position and just waited for Hotch to answer. He really didn't know what to expect from this guy. One minute he was practically mute and now he was calling for Hotch.

"_Yes, this is __Agent Hotchner"_ came Hotch's reply.

"So, what's next? What are we supposed to do here? Is this some kind of joke or something?" asked angrily the smelly guy, moving his arms to enforce his words.

"They are doing all they can---" started answering Reid.

"I didn't ask you, boy. I asked him" interrupted Sebastian, pointing at the camera.

As Morgan watched this reaction on camera, he wished he was inside that elevator to put this kid in his place. He knew Reid was capable of defending himself, but as his partner and friend, he didn't like anyone treating him like that. But he just clenched his fists not to react, took one deep breath and let Hotch handle the situation.

"_As __Agent Reid said, we're doing everything we can to take you out of there. Just let us do our job and please, remain calm"_ answered Hotchner.

Now, it was Linda's turn to ask. "But... what now? Will it keep dropping?" Fear covered her words.

"_We'll try to take you out of there before the next fall, but according to this person, the elevator will be falling down every hour. Next fall will be at 11 and it's supposed to drop 3 floors."_

"4 at 12, 5 at 1 and 4 again at 2pm" continued Reid, sitting in a corner of the elevator. But then, he thought of something that Hotch hadn't explained to him before, but he wasn't sure to ask in front of two terrified civilians.

"_I'll keep calling you. For now, just remain calm and let us do our job."_ Hotch ended the conversation.

Both, Sebastian and Linda looked at each other and Reid, but didn't say a word. They both sat down and let themselves be caught up in their own thoughts.

Reid took out his phone and dialed the number of his last answered call.

"_Morgan."_

"Hey, it's me." Reid had been in dangerous situations before, more times than he'd like, but he couldn't get used to the feeling of hopelessness that filled his heart every time something like this happened to him.

"_Hey, kid, how are you doing?"_ asked Morgan, wondering why the kid was calling him, if he'd already talked to Hotch.

"I'm fine... considering" Reid gave a little smile. "Morgan, I need you to tell me something." Spencer was whispering by now. He didn't want the others to hear him, but he knew that would be almost impossible.

"I know Hotch didn't tell me all and I need to know everything."

"_Reid, we're handling the case. Everything will be fine. We'll get you out of there"_ said Morgan, locking his eyes on Hotch, who was listening to Reid's words coming through the elevator's video image.

"I don't doubt you will, but I need to know everything. I deserve to know." Spencer paused, placed a lock of hair behind his ears and continued: "What happens if we make it to all the floor droppings? We get to ground level and what? What happened last time?" His voice sounded calm. He wanted the analytical part of his brain to take hold of the situation, ignoring his own fears.

"_Kid---"_ started Morgan.

"No "kid", just tell me the truth."

Hotch nodded and gave Morgan the green light to tell Reid the whole truth of the matter.

Morgan sighed. _"Reid, there's a bomb in the elevator shaft. After the last 4 floors, it's supposed to go off. That's what happened last time"_ explained Morgan, regretfully.

Derek and Hotch waited for Reid's reaction, but after several seconds, nothing came.

"_Reid?"_ asked Morgan.

"Yeah, OK. Well, I guess I should leave you to continue working." Then without a goodbye, Spencer hung up. He placed the mobile phone in his pocket and closed his eyes, wishing to be somewhere else.

Morgan remained looking at his friend's image till he heard Rossi's voice: "We'll take him out."

At that exact second, JJ came rushing through the door of the BAU room. "The building has already been emptied and, Morgan, the bomb squad is on line 2."

"Morgan" said the FBI agent, answering the call.

"_This is __Agent McFay from the bomb squad. My men have already checked the shaft and we have bad news."_

"What is it? _"What else could go wrong now?"_ asked Morgan to himself.

"_The device has 2 controls. Even if we manage to disable one, the other one is connected to a portable remote control. The UNSUB could blow it up any minute"_ explained the agent.

Morgan sighed, assessing the troubled looks of Rossi, JJ, Prentiss and Hotch. "OK, thank you" Derek answer to the other agent.

He knew it would have been too easy to disable the bomb and try to pry the elevator's doors to get the hostages out.

"So what do we do now?" asked Prentiss, putting into words the question going around everyone's head.

"We need to figure out this guy" answered Rossi.

"Garcia is checking elevator's accidents throughout the country, but they're still too many and we don't have enough information to pinpoint suspects" added JJ, unable to keep her eyes away from the image of her friend trapped in that enclosed elevator nightmare.

"OK, so he knows about bombs and he may work for the elevator maintenance company" said Prentiss.

"And he's a computer savvy." Garcia came quickly into the room, carrying her laptop. "He's controlling the elevator and all the cameras, in and out of it, and in the shaft, as well. He's watching and listening to every word said in there" she said pointing at the elevator's image.

"Can you track where the image is being transmitted?" asked Hotch.

"I've already tried, but he's rerouting the IP every 40 seconds" answered Garcia, almost apologetically. Morgan sensed his baby girl hated not being able to help Reid and placed a hand on her shoulder for support.

They heard a knock on the door and saw Agent Anderson standing there.

"Yes, Anderson" said the unit chief.

"Sir, there's someone on line 3 for you" uttered the agent.

"Can't it wait?" asked exasperatedly Hotch.

"No, sir, it's the UNSUB" explained Anderson.

Morgan looked at Hotch as he nodded to Garcia, as if telling her to be ready to track the call. Then, he answered the phone.

"This is Unit Chief SSA Aaron Hotchner."

"_Hello there. I'm Delapsus Sum. I hope you're enjoying my work"_ said the voice on the phone. He sounded as if he was smiling. Morgan made a mental note to kick the guy's ass until he could no longer smile.

"Can you tell me why you are doing this?" asked Hotch, calmly, forcing himself not to let the man know how terrified he truly was.

"_I'm doing it, because I can. I've proved it already. And as your bomb squad must have informed you, there's no point in sending anyone to that shaft. I've already let you look around, if I see another person there, I'll blow it up. And I guess you don't want that right?"_ asked tauntingly the UNSUB.

"You're right. I don't want anyone to get hurt. So why don't you tell me what you want. I'm sure we can find a solution that will satisfy us both. If you let the hostages out, we could give you something you want in return, maybe" conveyed the unit chief, trying to convince the killer.

"_See? You're wrong there. Like I said, I'm doing it, because I can. I don't want anything. I just want you to see them die. It'll be your fault because y__ou won't be able to prevent it, no matter how hard you try."_ Delapsus Sum gave a laugh.

Rossi whispered into Morgan's ear: "He feels he outsmarted the police last time and now it's the FBI's turn. His ego must be flying." Morgan nodded and closed his eyes imagining all the things he'd do to this guy when everything was over.

"Can you tell me your real name? If there's nothing we can do, you don't need to hide under a nickname." Hotch was trying to get as much information from this man as possible.

"_You'd like that, wouldn't you? Well, maybe later"_ he answered.

"Why do you want us to see them die? Why not blowing up the elevator and put an end to this?" Hotchner knew this was a risky approach, but he needed to know his real intentions.

"_And where's the fun in that? You see? I'm enjoying this, aren't you? Isn't it fun to see someone close to you falling in an elevator? I guess this time I got lucky and I won the lottery."_ With that, the phone call was over.

"Could you track him?" asked JJ.

"He was sending the call through different antennas all around the country. I'm sorry," apologized Garcia.

"Why call now? He didn't do it in Florida. Why change now?" asked Prentiss.

"Because he wants to show us he's smarter than us and wants to see us go in a wild goose chase. He knows he has something, or rather someone, important to us. That's what he meant by winning the lottery," explained SSA David Rossi in a matter-of-factly way.

All the BAU team turned to watch the image of SSA Dr. Spencer Reid, who had become the UNSUB's prize.

* * *

**See you soon with more! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter IV

**Sorry it's taking me so long to update... ****Just bear with poor old me. Thanks again for reading and reviewing.**

**ENJOY!**

*****

* * *

Chapter IV

UPWARD ELEVATORS

SSA Emily Prentiss and SSA David Rossi pulled up their SUV at the Upward Elevators offices. They were there to find out if the UNSUB was working in the premises. They didn't have too much time and they needed the help of the people who may have had been in contact with the person who was tormenting their lives putting innocent civilians and their friend's lives at risk.

Miss Janey Jacobs greeted them and guided them to her Human Resources office.

"Miss Jacobs," started Rossi, "I believe you know why we're here. We need your help to find out who is behind all this."

"Like I told you on the phone, I've checked all the employees' files, but none of them seems to fit the description you've already given me" explained the tall brunette woman in front of them.

"How about someone working as a freelance computer technician?" asked Prentiss. "This is someone who wouldn't have time to work a 9 to 5 job. He needs time in his hands to pull something like this. Maybe someone who moved here from Florida recently?"

"I have a list here of all the freelance technicians we subcontract, but it's a long list and it would take a long time to go over it" offered the Human Resources employee. "And we don't have too much time information on them. We just send them the data; they do their job and send us the invoice."

"Could you give us the list? Our computer analyst can go over it in no time and she may find more information" said Rossi checking his watch.

"But it would be impossible to go over this list, check backgrounds and everything in such a short period of time" argued Miss Jacobs.

"Oh, you don't know Miss Garcia. For her, there's nothing impossible" explained Prentiss, already taking the disk with the information the woman was handing to her.

Prentiss and Rossi left the building and hurried to their SUV.

"Do you think we'll solve this in time?" asked Prentiss in a small voice, once she was buckled up.

"We better do it" was the only answer she received from Rossi, who hit the sirens to open his way through traffic.

Once in the BAU headquarters, they found the rest of the team working on the little information they had on the case.

"We have a list of employees and freelance technicians working for Upward Elevators" said Prentiss entering the room.

"Garcia, go over the information. Look for someone with computer knowledge, who may have lived in Florida" said Hotch.

"Ok, sir" answered Penelope, entering the parameters in her computer.

"Check for someone with family problems, any elevator related accident" added Emily.

"He knows about bombs and he's well-organized, he may have been in the military" offered Morgan.

"If the UNSUB is in this list, we should have a name in the next few minutes" said Garcia, knowing that every minute was critical.

* * *

10:40 AM

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid sat in a corner of the cursed elevator. He had been waiting to receive a phone call with good news from his team members, but nothing had come yet. He knew the odds. He didn't want to call them, knowing that they surely were busy figuring out the situation.

They had 20 minutes before the next fall. Three floors. He just wished there was something he could do inside there. He hated feeling so powerless with so many things going around his head and nothing to do to help himself and the others.

"Excuse me." He heard Linda say.

"Yes?" answered Reid. At least, now she was willing to talk to him. Maybe a little bit of conversation could take their minds off the fact that the elevator would drop again in the next few minutes.

"You're an FBI agent, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Have you ever been in this kind of situation?" The terror was palpable in her voice and Reid felt sorry for her. She was too young to die. They all were.

"I've been in difficult situations, yeah. But don't worry, some of the best minds in the FBI are working on this." Reid gave a small smile and added, "I'm confident that they'll take us out of here." He was now talking to the camera above, knowing that his friends were on the other side.

"But I don't get it. Why would someone do something like this?" asked the blonde girl.

"Control. Maybe this is someone who doesn't have control over his own life and feels the need to control others. This is his weapon of choice," offered Reid, in his profiler voice.

"So he's a coward. He doesn't have the guts to kill someone in person and chooses to hide himself behind an elevator." Linda said raising her voice and almost yelling.

"You could say that" whispered Spencer, unaware of the fact that all words spoken in the elevator were being heard by an angry man with the power of blowing them up in any second.

* * *

10:45 AM

"So, I'm a coward? I'll show them not to talk about me like that" said the UNSUB in an angry voice filled with hatred.

He then started entering something in his computer which was next to the TV with the image of the elevator's interior.

* * *

10:50 AM

Reid's phone started ringing. Finally. The doctor closed his eyes and answered wishing to heat that the nightmare would soon be over.

"Reid."

"Hey, kid. How are you?" asked a worried Morgan.

"Fine, just bored. Is there any news?" As much as he trusted his team, he knew they couldn't solve a case in an hour. He'd just have to keep waiting and keep hoping for the best.

"Garcia is checking something to see if we can find this son of a bitch." Morgan clenched his jaw to try to remain calm.

Then he continued: "Reid, we've learned that this guy is listening to everything you say in there."

"Oh, so, he already knows I am..." The younger FBI agent didn't have to finish the question.

"Yeah, he knows you're one of us," answered Derek.

Spencer opened his eyes and something caught his attention. The light in the display of the floor number had started to flicker. That was something new. Reid had already studied every bit of the elevator and he was sure that hadn't happened before.

Morgan noticed his friend's reaction to something inside the confined space he was in.

"Reid? What's wrong?"

"There's a red light flickering in the display. I don't know what that is" explained Reid, frowning.

Hotch, paying attention to the image and his two subordinates' conversation, said: "We still have some minutes before the next---"

Suddenly, the elevator started its way down once again into a long black shaft. The three unlucky passengers in the interior of the enclosed capsule were caught off guard. None of them was prepared for the dropping.

With the abruptness of the downfall, Linda's voice boomed crazily from somewhere inside. Reid's body was plummeted downward and he then felt he was flying. He could feel it was free falling. As it passed each floor, it would make a terrifying grinding noise, till it finally jolted to a stop.

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid's body and those of his two companions crashed into the floor ending up in a crumpled heap.

* * *

**That's it for now. Not very wordy today, sorry.**

**Thanks for reading...**


	6. Chapter V

**Hi, guys! I'm back. And there's more "Going down" for you. Thanks for the wonderful reviews and comments. I'm glad you're all enjoying this story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own CM, unfortunately.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Chapter V

The image on the TV screen crowded his heart with satisfaction. It was a work of art. His piece was working out marvelously making him proud of it. A loud guffaw left his lips and filled the air of the dark room.

The three bodies on the floor of the elevator looked like rag dolls. He wished he had a camera where the FBI agents were to see their faces and laugh at their desperation for being unable to help these three miserable creatures. It felt so good. He wanted to do it again. He wanted to send them down again. He needed it like a junkie needs a vein, like a heart needs a beat, but he had to control himself. He had improvised after he heard those insignificant beings calling him a coward. But he had a plan and he had to stick to it.

Suddenly, his phone started ringing. The UNSUB checked the screen to see who the caller was.

"Yeah." He listened to what the other person had to say.

"OK, yes. Don't worry. I'll be ready for them." Then, he hung up.

With a smile on his face, he stated: "I'll show them, they can't beat Delapsus Sum," his evil laugh ringed out in every corner of the poorly lighted room, silencing the humming of the computers and TV screens.

* * *

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid heard sobs around him. He tried to focus his eyes to regain control of his body and the situation. _"What had happened? We still had more minutes before the next dropping, didn't we? Why is he changing his MO?" _All those questions crawled around his mind, while he tried to sit with his back resting against the wall of the elevator. A familiar copper taste of blood on his mouth caught his attention. He lifted one hand and placed it on his lower lip. _"Yeah, I bit it till I draw blood. Great"_ he thought. Then he felt warm liquid rolling down a side of his head. Once again, he raised his hand and confirmed his guess. He had a small cut on his scalp on the right side of the head.

While doing the assessment of his body, he heard worried voices calling out his name.

_"Reid?"_ came Hotch's voice through the intercom.

He saw his phone inches away and, grimacing, he stretched his arm to grab it. Then he heard: _"Kid, are you OK? Talk to me!"_ He knew his friends were surely troubled at seeing him in such a state.

"I'm fine." He answered to Morgan before pressing a button to end the call. After that, he looked up at the camera and repeated: "I'm fine."

Spencer took a look at the two young civilians sharing the nightmare with him. The blonde girl was curled up near the elevator's doors, crying.

"Linda, are you OK?" The FBI agent asked.

"It hurts." She answered in a strangled voice.

Reid got close to her and put a timid hand on her shoulder. "Where does it hurt?"

"My wrist." She paused and looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I think… it's broken."

"Let me take a look at it" said Spencer, taking Linda's wrist in his hands with utter gentleness, careful not to move it too much.

From the corner of the enclosed capsule they were in, he heard a snort. Sebastian Malucci laboriously got to his feet.

"What? You're an FBI agent and a doctor now?"

The FBI agent, owner of several PHDs, was about to say yes, but he chose to ignore him, taking a good look at the girl's wrist. "Yes, you're right. It's broken." Then, he took his tie and the girl's scarf and tried to immobilize her wrist as best as he could. Sighing deeply, he looked at the other man. "Are you OK?"

"Fuck no!" We've been trapped in here for the last two hours and we've free fallen two times! And your friends out there are doing nothing about it!" The smelly guy was yelling and moving around his arms unleashing his anger.

_"Mr. Malucci."_ They heard Hotch say with a stern voice.

"What? You'll ask me if I'm OK too?" Sebastian screamed at the camera. "Like I said to your boy here, no, I'm not! And you're not doing shit to take us out!"

"I'd so like to kick this guy's ass into next week!" thought Morgan, closing his eyes and letting out a deep tense breath.

"Mr. Malucci, I know you feel discouraged, but you have to remain calm and let us do our job." Hotch paused and in a quieter voice, he added, "We'll take you out."

That was said to comfort the three frustrated, stranded, elevator riders, but to one in particular. The unit chief could not afford to lose his younger team member, someone he considered a friend, a son.

After ending the communication through the intercom, he heard the smelly guy said, mockingly: _"Yeah, right."_ Hotch knew Sebastian Malucci would soon spell trouble.

JJ, sitting at the BAU round table, stared at the image of her son's godfather with fear in her eyes. He looked so small trapped in there and she felt the urge to hug him. A tender hand squeezed her shoulder. She looked up and saw Rossi's kind eyes. "He'll be fine." The media liaison smiled and nodded, but deep inside, she found it hard to believe.

"He's bleeding" said Garcia in a painful voice. Her junior G-man was bleeding and she could do nothing about it. That thought tugged at her heartstrings.

"This guy is changing his MO. If he keeps changing, it's going to be more difficult to find him" said Morgan, trying hard not to let the others see how concerned he was about his friend, even though they all shared his worries. "Why the hell did he do it?"

"Garcia, show us the image of the last minutes before the fall" ordered Rossi.

The technical analyst entered the command in the computer and they listened to Linda and Reid's conversation.

"_So he's a coward. He doesn't have the guts to kill someone in person and chooses to hide himself behind an elevator."_ Now, they knew what set this guy off.

"He could become reckless. If he pulls something like this again, it could have a more tragic outcome" added Prentiss solemnly.

"Yes, but if he keeps changing, he could make a mistake and that's what we'll use to nail him" stated Rossi.

"Yes, but at what cost?" asked Hotch, still watching at the screen.

They knew that the best thing to do right then was to keep their heads away from their worries, away from their emotions. They had to think like the UNSUB to get a step ahead of him, but if this man kept changing his MO, they would be running blind.

"JJ, prepare a press conference. We need to assure the public this is not a terrorist attack. Check if the media has access to any information we don't have" said Hotch in his all-business voice.

"On it." JJ got up following her boss' orders.

"And JJ," Hotch added, drawing the blonde woman's attention, "try to leave Reid out of this. This is about the UNSUB, we don't need it to be a story about an FBI agent."

"If they make this a 'hero' story with Reid as a star, this man can feel displaced and his rage will make him more dangerous" explained Morgan. "He needs to feel he's smarter than us and wants to brag about it. Let him believe he's right."

After that, the media liaison nodded in understanding and left the room, glad to have something to do to take her mind away from her dear friend's circumstances.

Suddenly, a red light flickered on the computer's screen catching Garcia's attention.

"Sir, I think I have something."

Morgan, Prentiss, Rossi and Hotch stopped moving around the room and got close to the table, waiting for the information which they hoped would help them solve the case and, most importantly, save their friend's life.

* * *

**So just a quick, short update. More to come soon. Thanks for reading and, if you feel like it, review this. I wouldn't mind that at all! If you have any questions or you feel like there's something which is not too clear, don't hesitate to ask me. I'll gladly clarify any doubt.**

**See you soon!**


	7. Chapter VI

**And I'm back again! Thank you again for all the reviews and the wonderful words in them.**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm proud to say that I do own my hands which help me write this in my computer. But that's all...**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**Chapter VI**

The BAU room filled with tense air as the team members prepared themselves to hear whatever Garcia had for them. At this point, any information would be of great help and everybody knew that their technical analyst wouldn't disappoint them. They all prayed to receive the blessing of a lead that would take them closer to the end.

"I think I have a suspect" carefully stated Garcia, alternating her look between the computer in front of her and the rest of the team on the other side of the table.

"OK, baby girl, tell about this bastard" said Morgan.

"Jonathan Sturz, 35 years old. He's a freelance computer technician working for Upward Elevators since a year and a half ago. Before he worked for another elevator company in Florida" exposed the technical analyst reading the information gathered.

"Let me guess. It was the same company in charge of the repairs in the apartment building of the previous attack" offered Derek.

"You're right, my love. He was in the military, two years in Afghanistan" continued Penelope.

"Hence his knowledge about bombs" said Prentiss.

Garcia fell silent for a moment, looking horrified at something she was reading from the computer screen.

"What is it, Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"Three years ago, he took his four year-old son to the mall. While he was on the phone, he turned around and his son stepped into an elevator that free fell seven floors. The boy died immediately along with the other five people inside" explained Penelope, trying to ignore the sadness she felt after reading such a tragic story.

Hotch narrowed his eyes, knowing that if anything similar happened to Jack, he would be devastated, to the point of not having a purpose in life. He almost felt sorry for the UNSUB. But he knew that was the difference between them. This sadistic killer was unable to feel pity or remorse.

"That was the stressor. Is he married?" asked Rossi.

"His wife filed for the divorce after their son's death" answered Garcia.

Everything was getting clearer now.

"Garcia, do you have an address?" asked Emily.

"Who do you think you're talking to, my dove?" The technical analyst grinned handing her a paper with an address on it.

"Good, let's go to the bullpen to prepare everything with the SWAT team" ordered the unit chief before leaving the room followed by Rossi and Prentiss.

Morgan got close to Garcia and kissed her in the head. "You never fail to amaze me."

"I can amaze you in so many more ways, my chocolate muffin. But first, go get this SOB so we can have our boy back" said Penelope watching the image of her favorite genius.

"Don't worry, momma. I'll bring him back. I won't rest till I do it" answered Derek, with fear and determination bathing his voice. It didn't matter how many times he'd seen his baby brother in dangerous situations and getting out of them, he knew one day the kid would not be that lucky, but he didn't want that day to come on his watch. He'd do anything in his power to keep the boy alive.

With a kind squeeze to Garcia's shoulder and his look lost in the image portrayed on the screen, he sighed and left the room to get ready to go after the suspect.

* * *

"How's your wrist?" asked Reid.

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid had remained in silence since the last fall. Knowing that the UNSUB had the power to listen to them and make the elevator drop at his whim, he didn't want to talk too much in case something said in there could piss this man or woman off enough to make them fly down again or even decide that I was not worth it any more to keep them alive and just blow them off. He didn't want his mind to go there, but he couldn't help thinking about his mother. What would she do without him? He thought about the letter he had written to her that morning. _"I should have sent it before coming here."_ But he had left it in his car. As always his bad luck had caught up with him, forcing him to change his plans.

Linda looked at the FBI agent and shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't hurt too much now." Then, she looked at her watch.

"We still have time." Reid reassured her.

"Yes, sure, like last time, right?" Sebastian said mockingly. The smelly guy reminded Spencer of his schoolmates. He still didn't know how to treat people like him. He could stand in front of an UNSUB with a gun pointed at him, preferably with Morgan or Hotch protecting him, but he still couldn't deal with cocky young men who believed they were better than anybody else.

"So, why isn't your boss calling us?" asked Mr. Malucci.

"They must be studying the case to bring it to an end soon" answered Reid, unwilling to give him too much information.

"Really? As you're an FBI agent," he used his fingers to stress the word agent, "enlighten me in the procedure."

"You just need to know that they're doing everything they can to take us out of here" said Reid, trying to end the conversation.

"Come on, Mr. FBI, tell me what they are doing. Or if you don't know, call them and ask" said Sebastian with a malicious grin in his mouth.

"Oh wait, they're surely sipping their coffee and eating doughnuts like all the cops in movies. You don't want to interrupt them, right?"

"Like you said, that's thought about cops, not FBI agents" uttered Reid, knowing that it would be wrong to provoke this guy, but he couldn't restrain himself from correcting him.

"Don't be a smart ass with me, boy. In here, you're just a helpless little kid" threatened Sebastian giving a step towards Reid.

"Hey, back off, man" said Linda, from her corner.

"Girl, stay out of this. See? You even need a girl to defend you." Sebastian carried on with his verbal attack.

"Please, just remain calm. And stop with this" tried Reid.

"Or what? What can you do to me?" Sebastian's body and his threatening posture got close to the FBI agent.

"Nothing" quietly said Spencer, trying hard to lock his eyes on the smelly guy. Finally, when Sebastian was almost invading Reid's personal space, he couldn't take it any more and lowered his eyes, feeling pathetic.

"_Stay away from him!"_ said a female voice through the intercom.

"_Garcia"_ thought Reid.

"Momma to the rescue" joked Sebastian.

Garcia knew she didn't have the authority to do this, but when she saw the attack on Reid, she was alone in the room and couldn't see that without doing anything about it. She had to defend her baby boy.

Unfortunately Sebastian Malucci wasn't done yet.

"So who's that one out there? Your girl?" asked the smelly guy, signaling the camera with his hand. He was so close to Reid's face that his garlic breath bathed the FBI agent's skin.

"No." Spencer whispered, his eyes alternating between his feet and Sebastian's mocking eyes. "Please, leave me alone."

With a smile of superiority on his lips, Mr. Malucci stepped back. Garcia and Reid, although they were miles apart, sighed in relief. Spencer's tense, almost invisible, muscles started to relax.

But...

"So what do you do for the FBI?" asked Sebastian. Apparently he was determined to have a conversation now.

Reid didn't answer.

"Oh, come on. Do you need daddy's approval?" He tried again. His will to provoke Reid was unrelenting.

"I work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit" eventually answered Reid, considering that maybe this guy would finally stop his verbal attack.

"So you can learn what people are like through their behavior? Interesting. Then, what can you say about me?" asked Sebastian, giving a step towards the young doctor again.

"I... I'd rather not do that" Reid gulped.

"Come on, are you afraid of making a mistake?" The smelly guy invaded Spencer's personal space once again.

"Hey, just leave him alone" pleaded Linda.

"Shut up!" yelled Sebastian.

That was it. This was getting out of control. Reid got tired of this stupid attack. He knew he wasn't good at fighting, but he WAS good at profiling.

"You act strong, but in deep inside, you're as scared of this as any of us. By the smell of your clothes, you work in a restaurant. By the creases in them, and the stains, you most probably have been sleeping in those for quite a while too." Reid paused to regain control of his voice and continued: "I could say you came here to deliver some food, but as you didn't go to college you feel threatened by the surroundings and by people you consider are better educated than you. You try to denigrate them using your force, because you're ashamed of your lack of knowledge."

The FBI agent took a deep breath and by the stunned look in Sebastian's face, he knew he had nailed his profile.

"_Go Reid!"_ thought Garcia, completely caught on the situation inside the elevator.

Unfortunately, Sebastian Malucci wouldn't let Reid laugh last.

The stunned look changed into an angry, almost murderous look that sent chills down Spencer's spine.

"_I should have stayed quiet"_ thought Reid, gulping a tense lump in his throat.

"Are you calling me stupid?" menacingly asked Sebastian.

"No... I was... just..." said Reid, stepping back until his back was against the wall.

"You think you're better than me, you little shit?" Fire emanated from the guy's eyes.

All words got stuck in Spencer's mouth, when in a rash movement Sebastian got his hand around Reid's throat and started applying pressure.

"I'll show you stupid, you bastard!" yelled Mr. Malucci, shacking Reid's surprised body, chocking him.

"Don't do that!" screamed Linda.

"Shut up, you bitch!" The guy answered loudly. He saw Reid's thin fingers grabbed his hands in an attempt to stop the now physical attack. It was pointless, the boy didn't have the necessary strength to stop him.

Garcia watched the scene with horrified eyes.

"_Stop it! You're killing him! Get away!"_ she yelled through the intercom. But Sebastian kept yanking and chocking her friend. She saw when Reid's hands stopped fighting, when his previously red face started acquiring a pale tone. His open mouth didn't emit any sound, his eyes showed his fear.

No matter how many times she and Linda begged the guy to stop, he wouldn't listen to them. He was determined to kill Reid. He looked lost in another world, where only the agent and his anger existed.

"_No, don't do it!"_ Garcia kept yelling, with tears rolling down her face.

Then she ran to the door of the room, still watching at the screen.

"No, no, no. Morgan! Hotch! Help! He's killing Reid!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

* * *

**So, what do you think? ****Don't you love when you a chapter ends like this? Hehehe, I know, I'm evil... But I'll start writing now, so you can read the rest soon. Thanks for reading and reviewing! HAVE FUN!**


	8. Chapter VII

**Hello, my darlings!! So I'm super glad that you all liked las****t chapter. I'm really sorry if some of you suffered from PCSD, or post cliffie stress disorder, after last chapter, but here's the update! So you don't have to wait any longer.**

**Thank you all for your reviews! You've made my week!**

**DISCLAIMER: The usual thing. Nothing has changed.**

**ENJOY!!!**

* * *

**Chapter VII**

Minutes before in the bullpen

SSA Aaron Hotchner gathered the SWAT team along with the rest of his team except Garcia, JJ and, of course, Dr. Reid.

"People, please, pay attention. Our suspect's name is Jonathan Sturz. SSA Prentiss will hand you his picture." At that point, Emily started giving out a picture of Mr. Sturz.

"SSA Morgan and SSA Prentiss will be in charge of taking him in."

Then, David Rossi continued giving them a description if the possible UNSUB. Until they heard Garcia's desperate screams.

"Morgan! Hotch! Help! He's killing Reid!"

It took Morgan a split of a second to cover the stairs up to the BAU room, where Garcia was frantically screaming. Upon his arrival, he watched with incredulous eyes an image that would be engraved in his mind for eternity.

"What the hell?!"

He then heard a gasp and an "Oh my God". Emily was right behind him, covering her mouth.

A the unit chief, SSA Hotchner, in a matter of seconds, saw what was happening inside the elevator, swallowed his anger and fear and ran to the phone to talk to the attacker and try to stop the madness displayed on the screen.

"How did that start?" He heard Rossi asked. The explanation could wait. The most important thing now was to order Sebastian to let go of his agent.

"Sebastian Malucci, stop that now! You're assaulting an FBI agent!"

He got no answer, no change was perceived. Sebastian kept yanking, shaking and choking Reid, who tried again to fight back, but failed miserably.

"If you don't stop now, I'll make sure you spend years in a Federal prison!"

Everything remained the same. He heard angry noises behind him. He knew Morgan was right there, furious as hell. He knew that his subordinate had one thought in mind, shooting the bastard that was attacking his friend.

But then, he saw as the other person in the elevator carefully got to her backpack and took a can from it.

Linda stood on trembling legs and getting her hand, armed with the can, close to Sebastian's face, she sprayed CS gas.

At the same time the smelly guy let go of Reid's throat, staggering backwards, cursing and rubbing his eyes, the young doctor fell to his knees coughing and gasping for air.

"Stay in that corner or I'll spray it again in your face, you son of a bitch!" yelled Linda, still aiming at Sebastian. "Are you OK?"

Reid nodded, but couldn't stop coughing, his air deprived body trying to absorb as much oxygen as possible. He swallowed with difficulty and, with eyes closed, sat down, resting his back against the wall.

Then he heard: "Mr. Malucci, stay right where you are. Do not move! Reid, phone!"

Spencer opened his eyes, trying to focus them, and started looking for his phone.

"Here." Linda had one hand pointing the can at Sebastian and the other one at him.

"Oh, thank you" he said with a rasping voice and taking his phone from his hand. The phone started ringing. Now that his eyes were focused he didn't dare miss any movement from his attacker. He'd be on guard this time. Anything could be expected from the smelly guy.

"Yeah."

"_Reid, how are you?"_ worriedly asked Hotch.

"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy right now. But I'll be fine." He answered with difficulty and coughing in between sentences.

"_Just stay calm. Try not to talk to Sebastian and everything will be fine. We have a lead. This will be over soon." _Hotch tried to comfort his friend.

Reid wondered if his superior had made up the part of having a lead to make him feel better or if it was really true. But he knew he couldn't ask. He was not working this case, as much as he hated it; he was the victim this time.

Hotch continued asking: _"How's the cut on your head?"_

"_Cut? What cut?"_ thought Spencer. Involuntarily his hand went up and his fingers touched the wounded area. _"Oh, right."_ "It's fine, the blood has dried up."

"_Reid, man, where's your gun?"_ Farther that Hotch's voice, he heard Morgan asking.

"I left it in the car." He answered and looking at his attacker, he whispered, "I didn't know I would be needing it in here."

"_Ok, Reid, just be patient. This will be over soon."_ Then Hotchner ended the conversation, leaving the doctor to his thoughts.

"Garcia, what happened?" The unit chief demanded to know.

"They were just talking and this guy kept trying to push Reid to the limit, asking him about the case and our work. Then he wanted Reid to profile him. At the beginning, Reid said no, but when Sebastian yelled at Linda, Reid started profiling him. And then, he just snapped! I tried to make him stop, but he wouldn't listen!" Penelope was shaking at the memory of the scene that had unfolded right in front of her. Morgan got to her side and placed an arm around her shoulders.

"It's OK, baby. It's over." Morgan was biting his words to try to calm down, his mind fighting against all the things he wanted to do to that Sebastian Malucci.

"We'll stay here to check on Reid. Morgan, Prentiss, you need to go" said Hotch.

"Right. Let's go, Morgan." Prentiss was already leaving the room.

"Be careful" uttered Rossi to his colleagues.

11:40 AM

The media liaison, Jennifer Jareau, returned to the BAU headquarters after handling the media. She had everything under control and felt confident when it came to press conferences and reporters. Unfortunately, she didn't have that same confidence when she had to face the fact that her friend was trapped in a mad nightmare.

Hotch looked up from the papers on the table in front of him. "How did it go?"

"Everything is taken care of. He hadn't contacted the media" answered JJ.

"He's not doing this for the media. He's doing this for us" said Rossi, considering the situation.

"How's everything in there? Any news?" asked JJ, sitting beside Garcia, who was working on her computer.

The technical analyst looked at her friend and started retelling the previous incident in the elevator.

"Oh, JJ, it was so horrible! That mean guy grabbed Spencer." JJ frowned when she heard her boss interrupting the telling of the incident.

"Garcia, please, focus on the case now" ordered Hotch. He didn't want his subordinates to keep thinking about the situation inside that capsule. They couldn't let that incident cloud over their minds. They had to keep their heads as far away from their emotions as possible. They would have time to deal with this Sebastian guy later. He would make sure he pays for attacking his agent.

11:48 AM

"Where is Morgan and Prentiss?" asked JJ, looking around the room.

"We have a possible suspect. They went to his house" answered Rossi.

At that same second, they heard a knock on the door. They saw Agent Anderson standing there.

"He's in line 2."

Hotch breathed deeply and prepared himself to talk to the UNSUB again.

"This is Agent Hotchner."

"_So that was fun"_ said the UNSUB with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"I don't know what you mean." Hotch was playing dumb to try to trick the man.

"_You do know, agent. Your boy in there is lucky to be alive, but I'm glad he is indeed alive. Now, I can kill him and I swear I will enjoy it."_

Garcia swallowed with difficulty. She didn't believe in guns, but if she had the chance to stand in front of this guy, she'd pull the trigger without hesitation. Or she could smack him on the head with the hardest laptop available.

"_It's amazing what desperate people would do in desperate situations"_ continued the UNSUB.

"That's why you're doing this? Are you desperate about something? Maybe an accident involving your family?" asked Hotch, playing a card he hoped would work.

"_Are you trying to get information about me, agent?"_ Delapsus Sum asked back. _"It doesn't matter if you think you've found me. You'll never catch me_." The determination in his voice made Hotch's blood run cold.

Garcia got a pen and started to furiously write down on a pink paper. And then she held the paper in front of Hotch.

HE'S CALLING FROM THE ADDRESS I GAVE PRENTISS

HE IS JONATHAN STURZ!

Hotch's brain started working at high speed, recalling the information they already had on this guy.

"We will catch you, Mr. Sturz."

A creepy guffaw was heard on the other side of the line.

"_Finally! I thought you feds would find me sooner. But I guess you're as useless as police. So... have you already sent your friends for me?__ I'm waiting for them. I hope they like my explosive surprise."_ And just like that, the line went dead.

"What? What did he say?" Desperation bathed Garcia's words.

"Call Morgan now!" ordered Hotch.

Rossi was already on the phone.

"_Rossi, we're already in front of the house"_ said Morgan as soon as he answered.

"Get out of there! It's a trap!" yelled Rossi, his words stumbling one onto the other.

Then, they heard a hellishly loud explosion that made the BAU team members in that room stop breathing.

"The phone's dead" uttered Rossi with a nervous voice.

"Call again!" desperately ordered the unit chief.

"Emily is not answering either" said JJ with her phone in her hand.

"Hotch?" whispered Garcia with tears in her eyes.

SSA Hotchner looked at her with a question in his eyes. "What had happened?" He couldn't lose his agents. He had to keep it together, although inside he was falling to pieces.

"It's 12 pm" whispered Penelope.

And then, as Rossi and JJ kept on their attempt to contact their friends, Hotch and Garcia watched as the elevator, holding Reid as hostage, started its way down once again.

Bloodcurdling screams rang out all around.

* * *

**Breath...**

**Oops! Thanks for reading!!! It's always a pleasure to read your reactions! See you soon. **


	9. Chapter VIII

**Hello everybody! ****Tiny tiny update... Sorry, it's taking me ages to update this story (I'm like updating every two or three days!). I'm currently working for the International Film Festival in Buenos Aires (translating movies!) and I'm really busy! Plus, yesterday another niece was born! So now, I'm super aunt! Enough of this...**

**DISCLAIMER: I do own the right to spoil my new niece, but nothing else.**

**ENJOY!!!**

**This is going to be shorter than other chapters...**

* * *

Chapter VIII

11:55 AM

SSA Morgan and SSA Prentiss arrived to the suspect's house, followed by the SWAT team. They got together to go over the latest instructions. Two SWAT men would go in first, then Morgan and Prentiss and lastly, the rest of the SWAT team. Only Morgan and Prentiss had the authority to take the suspect in.

After everything was set up, they got ready for the raid. Morgan took out his gun and signaled with his head to the men in front of him to start moving towards the door.

Then, his phone started ringing.

"_What the hell?"_ he thought. Emily was right behind him with the same question written all over her face.

Morgan checked the ID of the called and knew that if Rossi was calling him, it meant that something had happened.

"Rossi, we're already in front of the house." Morgan whispered into his phone. He didn't want the suspect to know they were right outside. Surprise was key in these cases.

"_Get out of there! It's a trap!"_

Indeed, surprise was key in these cases, although they were the ones to receive a surprised welcome.

In less than a split of a second, Morgan's mind assessed the situation around him. The two SWAT men opened the front door of the house, Rossi yelled over the phone...

Two plus two equals four. He realized what was coming their way.

Rapidly, he turned around, using his body to protect Prentiss, and screamed as loud as possible, "RUN!"

He saw how a startled Emily did her best to turn around as fast as she could, trying hard not to think about the men already inside the house. The other SWAT men started shouting and running when a hellishly loud explosion was heard behind them.

Morgan knew they weren't far enough. Blue and orange flames geysered high into the sky, eating everything in their way. The great hot hand of the explosion slapped Morgan on the back with such fury that he staggered forward by the force of the blow, falling on top of Emily, who instinctively sheltered her head with her arms.

A veil of blackness covered Derek's senses taking him away from the hot nightmare.

* * *

11:55 AM

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid checked his watch again. Five minutes. He grabbed the handrail to prepare himself for the next fall. He swallowed hard and said: "You should get ready. We have five minutes before the next" he hesitated "dropping."

Linda sat down to Reid's right and handed him the can of gas with a whispered "Just in case." Reid smiled nervously.

The blonde girl took the handrail with her good arm, resting her broken wrist on her lap. Before when she took Reid's phone with that hand, she needed to swallow several times to avoid passing out from the excruciating pain, but she dismissed it because the man needed her help. So now, she would let that arm down and try to survive the next few hours without the use of it.

On the other corner of the elevator, Sebastian Malucci sat down straight, taking hold of the handrail, without sparing a look toward the man he had previously attacked or the girl by his side.

Reid looked at his phone and wondered why the team hadn't call. He eagerly expected some news from them. They had a lead, or at least that was what Hotch had said. Had it been true? Were they already taking the suspect into custody and making their way to release them? He wished in his heart that was the case, but when the red light in the elevator's display started tilting, he knew what to expect.

Four floors this time. He closed his eyes and felt the pull of the drop. They were flying down without control, covering floors at the speed of light.

Until the nightmarish capsule got to an abrupt stop and an overwhelming silence flooded the air.

* * *

She was right behind her team member when his phone started ringing. _"What the hell?"_ she thought to herself.

In a matter of seconds, upon listening to the caller's words, Morgan's facial features displayed a mixture of anger, fear and haste.

Then, she saw how his muscles tensed when he screamed: "RUN!"

SSA Emily Prentiss turned around and run. Thousands of questions wandered around her head, but she would look for the answers later. Would there be a "later"?

She heard the explosion. She felt the heat. She fell to the ground under Morgan's body. She embraced the darkness.

* * *

**More will be coming soon!!! This one was just to give you something to read. I swear next chapter will be more informative and longer... Thanks again for reading and reviewing!**


	10. Chapter IX

**Hey! Remember me??? I'm really sorry. ****It's been forever since the last update (well, actually a bit more than a week, but for me that's too much!) I'm still running against the clock, but I wanted to update, so you won't forget about this story.**

**DISCLAIMER: The usual thing.**

**ENJOY! And celebrate MGG's birthday tomorrow!**

* * *

Chapter IX

How did we get here? The lives of three BAU team members were in danger. Was it too late to save them?

The BAU room was filled with tension and uncertainty.

SSA David Rossi kept calling Morgan. Jennifer Jareau had her phone on her ear, with trembling hands, trying to get through to Emily. All their efforts seemed to be fruitless. No word had been heard from them since the explosion. While they were busy desperately trying to contact their friends, their eyes watched the image coming from inside the elevator. They saw Garcia's glistening, teary eyes and Hotch's clenched jaw.

Then, they noticed the movements inside the enclosed capsule holding their youngest member.

* * *

Reid was facing down feeling his world was upside down. Carefully opening his eyes and placing his hands on the floor, he pushed himself up till he finally got to a sitting position.

"Are you OK? Readjusting his eyes, he asked to the girl laying on his right.

Tears were streaming down Linda's face. She nodded, holding her broken wrist with the other hand.

"God, when will this be over?" asked the girl between sobs without expecting an answer, but hoping for one.

Reid noticed that his former attacker was facing down on the floor and hadn't moved.

"Hey, are you OK?"

No wordy answer was heard, just a strained chuckled.

"Can you move?" Spencer wondered if he would be pushing his luck if he moved nearer to Sebastian. Dismissing his worries, he crawled to his side and touched him slightly on his shoulder.

The smelly guy shuddered and by the painful expression bathing his face, the FBI agent knew something was wrong.

"Where does it hurt?" He asked.

"I'm fine" answered Sebastian, clearly lying. He lifted his torso with difficulty and sat down. Closing his eyes, he rested his back on the wall.

Spencer saw that he was holding his left arm with his right arm, trying hard not to move it.

"Let me see it" offered Reid lifting his arms.

"I said I'm fine" snapped back the boy.

"Hey! He's just trying to help you!" came Linda's retort.

Sebastian looked pissed at Linda and then, his eyes moved back to Reid, who waited for a hint to see if the smelly guy would accept his help.

Mr. Malucci just looked down ignoring the offer, so the FBI agent sighed and moved back to his place in the elevator.

Reid took out his cell phone and dialed. He waited, but he received no answer. _"That's strange"_ he thought, while he decided to dial another number.

"_Reid, are you OK?"_ He heard Hotch's worried voice on the other side of the line.

"I'm fine." He unconsciously placed a lock of hair behind his ear. "Is there any news? I called Morgan, but he's not answering."

Reid perceived the hesitation in his boss' voice, which made him really uncomfortable. A few moments later, the senior agent answered: _"We are working on it. Don't worry."_ That answer made it clear to Spencer that something was wrong.

"Hotch?" Whatever was happening had to be really bad to make his boss answer in such an elusive way.

Without letting Reid continue, Aaron said: _"We already know who the UNSUB is, we'll get you out of there. Just... hang in there a little bit longer."_

Spencer heard voices on the other side, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

"_I'll call you back soon."_

The conversation was over, but the worries inside the genius were growing at high speed.

* * *

"I'll call you back soon" said Hotch, before putting an end to the phone call conversation. He closed his eyes and tried to remain calm.

Although not entirely out of danger, his youngest team member was still alive. Now, he had to focus on contacting his other two team members, from whom they hadn't had any news at all. In moments like these, he'd really wish he wasn't the leader of the team.

"Still nothing" quietly said Rossi.

The four team members in the BAU room shared unspoken fears.

* * *

Silence invaded his senses. He felt like if he was flying over a field of quietness. He felt at peace. He touched some green plants on the ground, enjoying the softness against his skin.

And suddenly...

He was pulled back into a smoky and painful reality packed with screams and loud noises.

SSA Derek Morgan opened his eyes and saw a column of smoke spoiling the perfection of a blue sky. And then he remembered.

_Reid. The UNSUB. The bomb... Emily._

With some difficulty, he got up. Men were running back and forth yelling at each other. There was blood staining the uniforms of some SWAT men.

"Emily!" he yelled. She shouldn't be far. He remembered falling on top of her. But where was she now?

And then, he saw the unmoving body of his colleague, laying face down on the grass. Her dark hair covered her face.

Derek ran to her side and fell on his knees, frantically calling her name.

"Emily! Emily, wake up!"

Nothing. Not a sound, not a movement, not a flinch.

Blood was coming out from a nasty gash on the side of her head. Morgan checked her vitals. Strong pulse, even breathing.

"Emily!" screamed Derek, shaking her.

The dark FBI agent heard the sound of an ambulance nearby.

"I need a medic! Here!" he yelled out loud, waving his arms in the air.

Two EMTs hurriedly approached them, while several others ran towards the other injured men scattered on the lawn.

At the same time as the paramedics worked on an unconscious Prentiss, Morgan got up and looked at the scene of the explosion. _"He had been waiting for us."_

"Sir!" He heard one member of the SWAT team who was running to his side called. "Sir, we have three men dead and several injured."

"Damn it!" Furiously exclaimed Morgan, closing his eyes.

Just then, he heard his phone ringing. He looked around and there on the ground he found it.

The FBI agent grabbed it and answered.

"Morgan."

"_Are you OK?"_ asked a tensed Rossi. _"How's Emily?"_

"I'm fine, but Emily is unconscious. She has a cut on her head" said Morgan, looking at the immobile figure of his friend, while the paramedics loaded her onto the stretcher. "The medics are working on her."

"_We'll meet you at the hospital."_ That was Hotch. He realized he was probably on speaker.

"Ok, fine" said a tired and worn out Morgan.

"Sir, she's ready to go" exclaimed one of the medics. Morgan turned around, taking one last look at the horrible scene of a burning house, firefighters and policemen running around and blood-sprinkled bodies on the floor, and then answered.

"I'm riding with her."

* * *

Back in the BAU room, everybody felt relieved that their friends were still alive.

Rapidly, Hotck ordered: "Rossi, JJ, let's go to the hospital. Garcia, keep digging up information about the UNSUB. Send me everything you find." The Unit Chief was already walking towards the door, followed by Rossi.

"On it, sir" answered Garcia. Then she called: "JJ."

JJ stopped at the door and turned to face the bubbly technical analyst.

"Please, take care of Morgan and Prentiss."

The media liaison nodded and looking at the screen, she said: "And you take care of Henry's Godfather."

Garcia gave a small smile and thought: _"Always."_

* * *

**There you go. ****Soon, there will be more! Thank you for reading and reviewing! You're awesome people!**


	11. Chapter X

**And 20 days later, I'm back!**

**So sorry for the delay... ****Film festival is about to start and I've been working like crazy. Thank you for the support to this story. I despise myself for not being able to update sooner... My apologies to you all.**

**DISCLAIMER: So, I talked to Ed and said I can't own CM. That's a pity.**

**ENJOY!!!**

* * *

Chapter X

The emergency room was crowded with people. Nurses and doctors ran around, treating the different patients. SSA Derek Morgan paced back and forth, deep in thoughts, waiting to receive an update on Emily's condition. She hadn't regained consciousness in the ride to the hospital, which was a sign that something was clearly wrong. He felt utterly helpless. He couldn't help Emily and he was wasting precious time there, instead of trying to catch the bastard that was tormenting the team, precious time that Reid and the other two people inside the elevator didn't have.

"Morgan!" He turned around and saw Hotch, JJ and Rossi entering through the doors of the emergency room.

"How are you?" asked JJ worriedly.

"I'm fine" exhaled Morgan. "I still don't know anything about Emily."

"JJ, go check if the nurses know something" ordered Hotch.

JJ nodded and squeezed Derek's arm before leaving. She knew that her colleague was blaming himself for what had happened.

Morgan sighed and asked: "How did you know it was a trap?"

"He called us" answered Rossi.

"Son of a bitch!" exclaimed Derek. "He killed three men." _"And almost killed Emily..."_ thought to himself.

"Morgan, you know this is not your fault... You couldn't have done anything" reassured the unit chief.

"I know." Morgan took a deep breath. "How's Reid?"

"He's fine" answered Hotch. He noticed that Rossi was quiet with his mind somewhere else. "What's on your mind?"

"I've been wondering... How did he know we were already onto him? I mean, he knew exactly when we would be going to get him. That's too much of a coincidence, if you ask me" explained SSA David Rossi.

"Are you saying he was watching us? Do you think someone tip him off?" Morgan's mind was already trying to figure out who could have been.

"Wait! That's it!" Rossi's face showed an understanding of the situation, but Hotch and Morgan felt lost.

"Do you mind explaining it?"

"When Prentiss and I went to Upward Elevators, the woman in the Human Resources office was pretty unwilling to give us information. She kept telling us that none of their employees fit the description." He took a deep breath and continued, "And she told us that their list of freelance analysts was long and it would be nearly impossible to go over it in time. Miss Jacobs was like trying to convince us to look somewhere else." Rossi ended his explanation.

"But then, Garcia found the UNSUB in that list" stated Morgan.

Hotch took out his phone and called Garcia.

"Garcia, send me all the information on Janey Jacobs of Upward Elevators."

"_Yes, sir. Right away."_ Hotch heard the technical analyst entering the information in her computer. _"How are Morgan and Prentiss?"_

Hotch handed his phone to Morgan, instead of answering himself.

"Hi, baby girl" greeted Derek with a broad smile, even though she couldn't see him.

"_Oh, thank God, you're fine."_ Relief bathed Penelope's voice.

"Hey, you didn't think you'd be getting rid of me so easily, right?" Morgan broadened his smile. "And Emily is still with the doctor. As soon as we have more information, we'll call you."

"_You do that, sunshine. And let me know if you need a nurse, I know how to take care of you."_

With a chuckle, Morgan hung up and gave the phone back to Hotch.

"OK, Dave, go with Morgan to Upward Elevators to talk to Miss Janey Jacobs. I'll send you all the information we get on her."

"Fine, let's go, Morgan." Rossi started walking towards the exit.

Derek hesitated, caught in between wanting to see how Emily was doing and wanting to save Reid.

Hotch noticed his hesitation and said: "I'll call you as soon as we know anything about her condition. Now, go."

Morgan nodded, appreciatingly, and left following Rossi.

Aaron Hotchner knew they had less than two hours to save Reid. He already had an agent in hospital and didn't want to lose his youngest agent. Why Reid was always in danger? He was such a magnet for dangerous situations that sometimes Hotch wondered if it wouldn't be safer to leave Reid behind with Garcia and out of the field.

Sighing, he turned around and saw JJ coming his way.

"How's Prentiss?

"She's awake and already trying to convince the doctor she's fine to go back, but I think they want her to stay here and run some more tests" explained JJ.

"Fine, stay here with her. I'll go back to the BAU" uttered Hotch. "Make sure she doesn't run away. She's not to go back until the doctor says so."

"Sure." JJ turned around and went to Prentiss' room.

* * *

Spencer Reid kept pacing around the enclose space he was in. Some minutes ago, he got tired of sitting down and stood up, wishing time would go faster. Being trapped in there was like being trapped in hell. He was unable to do anything to help the team and they hadn't contacted him since the last fall.

Linda looked deep in concentration, trying hard to cope with the pain on her broken wrist. Sebastian hadn't said a word, either. He seemed to be having a problem with his arm, but Spencer didn't know if it would be a good idea to ask what was wrong. He wanted to help him. At least, he'd have something to do.

"Could you stop that? You're driving me crazy, man" said the smelly guy.

"_No insult, that's a first" _thought Reid.

"Sorry" Spencer apologized, sitting down once again.

Sebastian tried to get into a more comfortable position in the hard floor of the elevator wincing in pain as he moved. He closed his eyes, cursing. Then he heard a timid voice: "Would you mind... me looking at your arm?"

Spencer was looking at him.

Mr. Malucci chuckled: "Why would you want to help me? Are you some kind of saint?"

"I... just...mmm." Reid looked for an answer, but couldn't come up with a suitable one. "Just let me see it, OK?" A few seconds went by, and then, he added: "Please."

"Suit yourself, agent. I think my shoulder is dislocated." Reid carefully crawled to his side and after a moment of hesitation, he placed his hands on Sebastian's shoulder, who flinched at the contact.

"Sorry" Reid apologized. "You're right, your shoulder appears to be out of the joint."

"Great." Sarcasm filled Sebastian's voice.

"Mmm... You'd feel better if you'd allow me to put it back into place" offered the FBI agent.

Reid sensed the smelly guy's reluctance to accept his help. He waited for a few seconds until he saw Sebastian nodding, giving him a green light to do whatever he could to lessen the pain on his shoulder.

* * *

SSA David Rossi was driving fast, lights and sirens on, making his way through the traffic. In the passenger seat, Derek Morgan held his phone to his ear and then he said:

"Hold on, Garcia, I'll put you on speaker." He lowered his phone and held it in his hand in between him and the older FBI agent, who kept his trained eyes on the road. "Go, Garcia."

"_Ok, I've called Upward Elevators. They told me Miss Jacobs received an urgent phone call and left an hour ago."_

"Garcia, do you have her address?" asked Rossi, overtaking a red Suburban.

"_Of course, my horse. Err... Sorry, too much caffeine. I'm sending her address to your phones now."_

"Thanks, baby girl." Derek snapped close his phone. "Do you think she'll be there?" He asked looking at his driver.

"There's only one way to find out" answered Rossi, stepping on the gas.

* * *

**There you go. I've already started the following chapter, so you won't have to wait so long. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!**


	12. Chapter XI

**Hey!! You didn't have time to miss me this time! ****I really didn't expect to have this ready so soon... But my wonderful readers deserve their chapter, so here it comes.**

**DISCLAIMER: The usual thing...**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Chapter XI

SSA Aaron Hotchner entered the BAU meeting room and found the technical analyst working on her computer.

"Sir, I've called Upward Elevators. Miss Jacobs left an hour ago. Morgan and Rossi are on their way to her house right now" informed Garcia.

"Good" answered the unit chief. And then looking at the screen, he added: "How's everything in there?" He saw Reid kneeling by Sebastian Malucci's side, wondering of it was a good idea for his subordinate to be so close to his attacker.

"Apparently, the guy has a dislocated shoulder. Reid is trying to help him" explained Penelope.

"God damn it! Son of a...!" Sebastian Malucci yelled out loud at the top of his lungs with tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

* * *

Dr. Spencer Reid knew that in case of a dislocated shoulder, the injured person had to be on his back, laying down on a firm surface. The person giving assistance should slowly reach using the hand of the dislocated shoulder behind their head and try to touch the opposite shoulder. Through the very slow, steady reaching, the shoulder should align itself and pop back into place. He had to cup the victim's elbow for support, guiding their arm through the maneuver. His other hand could be placed on their shoulder to apply support to the joint as goes through the motion. That was the Milch technique. And that's exactly what he did in his first attempt to help Sebastian Malucci. But his attempt was in vain.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" he apologized. Apparently, he hadn't done it right, inflicting excruciating pain to the already hurt man.

"Jesus Christ!" The smelly guy kept uttering a string of curses, holding his left arm with his right hand.

Reid knew that improperly putting the shoulder back into place could cause injury to blood vessels or nerves. He really didn't want to harm the guy.

"Maybe it would be better of you'd leave it like that until they rescue us" said Linda, considering the situation. She didn't want to see the two men fighting again. In some more minutes, the elevator would drop once again. She really didn't want to spend the minutes leading to the fall trying to break them apart, while coping with the sharp pain she felt on her wrist.

"No, that's not good. The sooner the shoulder is pop back into place, the better" explained Reid. Then he looked at Sebastian. "Let me try again."

"Are you trying to take revenge for what I did before?" asked the smelly guy, swallowing a lump on his throat in his attempt to control the massive amount of pain he felt.

"No, no. I really want to help you. I sear, you'll feel much better once the bone is back into the joint." Reid knew that the next fall was approaching with giant leaps and the guy would need both arms if he wanted to survive the five-floor drop that was coming their way. Linda would need the agent's help due to her broken wrist. Would he be able to help himself?

"Come on, let me try again" said Spencer, looking straight into Sebastian's eyes. "We have a few more minutes before the next fall. You'll need both your hands."

Sebastian closed his eyes, very much aware of the fact that the agent's words were true. He felt pissed off to have to let the guy help him, after he had treated him so badly. But swallowing his pride, he slightly nodded and tried to relax on the floor.

Reid got close to him again.

"Just try to fix it this time..." Sebastian paused and as if in shame, he quietly added: "Please."

Linda, watching everything without interrupting, thought: _"And the tables are turned."_

"Just relax" soothed Reid. He knew that a relaxed body would slip more easily back into place. He bent the guy's elbow and turned his injured arm until the hand rested against his stomach, before continuing with the technique. Spencer performed the movement slowly to reduce the pain and increase the chances of reattaching the shoulder.

The FBI agent hoped this time the technique would work.

* * *

Rossi stopped the SUV in front of Janey Jacobs' residence. Derek Morgan got out of the vehicle and walked up the stairs towards the front door, followed by his older colleague.

Pounding on the door with his fist, Morgan shouted: "Janey Jacobs, FBI! Open the door!"

They waited for a few seconds, but they didn't receive any answer.

So Derek tried again. "Janey Jacobs! Open the door!"

David Rossi checked the windows, but didn't notice any movement inside the house. Not one sound could be heard. The house looked empty.

The two FBI agents took out their guns and prepared themselves to enter the house, although they hadn't been invited.

Rossi looked at Morgan and nodded. Derek forcefully kicked the door open, yelling: "FBI! Janey Jacobs!"

Upon crossing the entrance, they found themselves in the living room, where nothing looked suspicious or out of place. Then, they continued searching the rest of the house. First, the kitchen. The back door was closed and there was no sign of the woman they were looking for. Next, they took the corridor leading to the rest of the rooms.

Morgan signaled a broken frame on the floor. Rossi caught the signs of struggle and nodded in understanding. They remained in silence walking like tigers stalking their prey.

They found a closed door. Morgan placed his hand on the doorknob and in less than a second, he was storming into the room, with Rossi at his heels.

"Oh my God." Morgan gasped at the sight in front of him.

On top of a crumpled bed, lay the lifeless body of Miss Janey Jacobs. She had been stabbed and had a slash on her throat. Her eyes were wide open. Blood covered her motionless figure and parts of the room, a silent witness of the cruel and vicious attack that had taken place moments before the arrival of the federal agents.

"Rossi, look at her mouth" said Morgan. There were two cuts in the form of an X crossing the dead woman's mouth.

"You won't talk" stated Rossi, explaining the clear message of such a savage assault.

"We should call Hotch" said Derek taking out his phone.

Just then, they heard the screeching of tires and something as heavy as a rock broke the window of the room, which soon filled with smoke.

"Rossi! Take cover!"

* * *

**Soon, there will be more... Maybe sooner than you expect... Stay tuned!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing.**


	13. Chapter XII

**In an unprecedented act, (at least for me), I'm updating again!!! ****I guess this is because I feel bad that I didn't update for 20 days, and now you have three chapters in a row! Incredible...**

**DISCLAIMER: Delapsus Sum, Upward Elevators and Janey Jacobs are mine... The rest is not, unfortunately...**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Chapter XII

"Rossi! Take cover!" yelled Morgan, ducking behind a wooden sideboard.

Coughing, Derek lifted his head to look at what it looked like an explosive device. Ignoring Rossi's advice to remain where he was, Morgan approached the device and then, a fireless, but noisy explosion occurred, forcing him to fall backwards.

"Morgan, are you OK?" worriedly yelled David.

Derek rapidly reacted, hearing nothing, but his own fast heartbeat.

The older FBI agent ran to his colleague's side and grabbed his arm. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Morgan had his eyes fixed on the device.

"Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed.

From the bomb-like artifact lifted a stick and on top of it, there was a flag with the word "BOOM!" printed on it.

"I'm getting sick of this bastard and his damned bombs!" bellowed the dark-skinned man.

Rossi knew exactly how frustrated Morgan felt, but they couldn't stay there to indulge in their self-pity. They were running out of time.

"Come on. We have to move now" said Rossi, patting Morgan's back. Derek nodded and got up. "I'll call Hotch. We need the CSI team here" informed the senior agent.

"Rossi."

"David turned around, with his phone already to his ear.

"It's five minutes to 1 pm... The next fall" whispered Morgan, his voice laced with fear for his friend.

* * *

"For heaven's sake! You're killing me, man!"

Dr. Spencer Reid had tried once again to place the dislocated shoulder of Sebastian Malucci back to where it belongs. Once again in vain. He had waited until the man's muscles were relaxed, even though the pain made him want to tighten his body.

Spencer performed the technique with careful hands and waited for the intense pain to go away, but the awaited relief never came.

What did come was a new and refreshed wave of curses.

"Sorry, sorry." Reid apologized, giving a step backwards. He knew it had been so close. He just needed to keep trying, he could do it and was determined to do it, although Sebastian by now thought Spencer was determined to kill him, not to help him.

"Look, just leave it like this" came Sebastian's weak voice.

"No, no, we don't have much time. When the shoulder is back into place, you'll feel much better and you'll be able to grab the handrail more forcefully" explained Reid, trying to convince the injured man.

"What's the point? We're going to die in here." The smelly guy sounded defeated.

"No." The FBI agent shook his head no. "We will get out of here, but we just have to try to survive until they get us out." Reid hoped he was saying the true. He really wanted to believe that his team members would get them out.

"You'll need both your arms in the next fall" continued Spencer quietly.

"He's right, you know?" interrupted Linda. For a second, Reid wondered who she was referring to. "You'll need both your arms. Let him help you." The blonde girl was looking at them with her head resting on the wall of the elevator and her hands resting on her lap.

Reid checked his watch. They had two minutes before the next fall. Two minutes to fix the guy's shoulder and placed themselves in a comfortable and safe position.

"Come on, we have two minutes. Let me help you" offered Reid, kneeling by the man's side.

"Alright, but..." Sebastian paused and licked his lips. "Try to do it right this time."

"I will, I will. Now, relax."

Slowly, the FBI agent bent down Sebastian's elbow to a 90 degree angle, ignoring the guy's painful groans.

"Just keep breathing and relax" said Spencer in a soothing voice and looking straight into the injured man's semi-opened eyes.

"Wait, wait! It hurts too much!" yelled the smelly guy, closing his eyes and trying to escape to a painless scenario, far away from the agent's side.

"Look, we don't have much time" explained Reid. He wouldn't let him give up.

And as if on cue, a voice was heard in the elevator, a voice that didn't belong to any of the three people in there.

* * *

"Why is he trying to help that guy after he tried to kill him?" asked Garcia, completely caught in the scene unfolding at the screen.

Hotch was standing right next to her, with his eyes on the screen. He had received Rossi's call informing the latest undesirable news. He knew Morgan and Rossi were on their way to the BAU. They had just one hour and a few minutes to find the UNSUB.

"That's Reid in there. It would surprise me if he didn't do anything" said Hotch with a hint of pride evident in his voice. He was worriedly aware of the fact that Reid would do anything for others, utterly regardless of the danger to himself.

Garcia smiled and checked her watch.

"Hotch, they have one minute."

The unit chief took a deep breath and prepared himself to talk to the people inside the enclosed capsule about to fall.

* * *

"_Reid, you have one minute"_ said Hotch's voice.

"I know, I know" answered the agent, getting more nervous. "Come on, we have to do this."

Sebastian nodded and tried to relax.

The seconds went by rapidly and the nightmarish fall was approaching.

"_Reid, prepare yourself. You have 30 seconds."_ ordered the unit chief in a stern voice that didn't hide his fears.

"I can't leave him like this" answered Spencer, still working on the man's shoulder.

20 seconds

The bone in the victim's upper extremity seemed determined to stay out of its socket. Sebastian's muscles were tensed due to the pain and the proximity of the fall.

10 seconds

"Come on, come on" said Reid, as if talking to the stubborn bone.

"_Reid, it's an order. Prepare for the fall!"_ commanded Hotch.

"Oh, God" gasped Linda terrified.

5 seconds

Just then, the obstinate bone gave up the fight and placed itself where it belonged.

Sebastian sighed in relief.

Reid gave a content smile.

But they didn't have time to celebrate their victory, as the light in the display of the floor number started to flicker and the clock hands hit 1 pm.

And then, all hell broke loose, in an elevator voyage down five floors with unprepared hostages in its interior.

* * *

**And the last hour will start in the following chapter... Let's hope I can update soon, right?? Thanks for reading and reviewing!!!**


	14. Chapter XIII

**Hey guys! Remember me?? Sorry for the delay, but here we are again.**

**Thanks a lot for all the reviews! I haven't been able to answer them all, but I'll try to catch up with the replies soon.**

**This one goes especially for the wonderful CMAli. Love you Momma!**

**Disclaimer: The usual thing...**

**With nothing else to say, ENJOY!!!**

* * *

Chapter XIII

The soothing and constant sounds of machines in the room didn't help to calm Emily's Prentiss' nerves. She could hear the shuffling of feet outside her hospital room, while sitting on her less than comfortable bed.

"Can you calm down?" JJ's voice sounded as if her mind was far away from there, while she kept looking out the window at the sky above.

Without turning around to look at her colleague, she added: "Just wait till we have your results. Then, if the doctor agrees, we'll leave."

Prentiss sighed and lowered her head until her chin touched her chest. "I feel completely useless here. We are wasting time that Reid doesn't have." Then she closed her eyes and let her head rest on the pillow. "JJ, what if we can't..." Emily whispered words were interrupted by JJ's strong retort.

"Don't say that! Don't do it!" The media liaison's blue eyes were swimming in unshed tears.

"Oh, JJ, I'm so sorry." Prentiss apologized, patting the bed by her side inviting her friend to sit down there.

Once the blonde woman sat down, they held hands in silence, sharing unspoken worries.

"Emily?"

Prentiss looked up.

"It's 1 p.m." informed JJ.

Prentiss closed her eyes to ignore the tears forming in them and sighed: "He'll make it."

Little did they know that their youngest friend was finding it really hard to do so.

* * *

A black SUV made its way through traffic with its sirens loudly howling advising other drivers to move to their side and proceed to empty its lane. Nothing would deter it from getting to its destination, like nothing could stop the sun from rising from the east every morning.

"Still no answer?" asked David Rossi gripping the steering wheel much tighter than he would normally would.

In the passenger seat, SSA Derek Morgan held his phone to his right ear, listening just one ring after another. That was not what he expected to hear when he decided to call Reid to check up on him. A wave of renewed fear bathed his body.

"No, nothing." He answered with his eyes fixed on the road and his mind 10 miles from the FBI headquarters.

"We are one block away from the office. We'll find out soon what's going on" stated the senior agent.

After parking the SUV in the building's parking lot, both federal agents rushed towards the elevator.

"We have one hour to find this bastard" said Morgan.

"We should start checking Miss Jacobs and the Unsub's connection" informed Rossi. "And we could ask Garcia to check find out where his Upward Elevator's checks are sent.

"Right." Derek took a deep breath. "I swear I won't be gentle when we catch this guy" promised Morgan when the elevator's doors opened.

"That's fine by me" answered David, purposefully striding into the bullpen.

While walking to the BAU meeting room, they saw Garcia rushing towards them with her head down, not exactly paying attention to anyone in her way.

"Hey, baby girl." Morgan greeted her with a small grin.

"Garcia, how's everything in..." David interrupted himself after seeing the sea of tears bathing the technical analyst's face.

Penelope lifted her head and focused her eyes on Derek, before crashing against his chest.

"Oh, Derek." Garcia's voice sounded strained with tears.

"Wow, what's going on, sweetheart?" worriedly asked Morgan, his protective arms settled around the woman's sad figure.

Garcia sobbed against his chest and tried to answer: "He's not... responding."

Rossi looked puzzled, fear and understanding creeping up on his face.

"What do you mean?" quietly asked Derek, feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

"Reid's unconscious and he's... just laying in there" answered Penelope in a tear-filled voice.

Morgan carefully broke contact with Garcia and started to run towards the BAU meeting room with his heart jumping in his throat, chocking him.

Penelope looked at Rossi, who stood there paralyzed, considering the whole situation.

"I can't go in there again" said the woman heading to the women's restroom.

Rossi nodded and as in a state of complete numbness, he made his way up the room where he'd watch the image described by the technical analyst.

* * *

Morgan entered the room, struggling to control his worries.

SSA Hotchner had his hands on the table and kept shouting: "Reid! Answer me!"

Derek's eyes watched the screen. He saw the blonde girl crying at one corner of the elevator, holding her broken wrist with her other arm. Sebastian Malucci looked distressed on the other side of the enclosed capsule, as if not knowing what to do next.

And in the middle of them both, laid the unmoving figure of the BAU youngest agent sprawled on his stomach. A pool of red liquid rested on the floor of the elevator where the boy's head laid, blood trickling down the agent's curls from the reopening of his previously acquired injury.

"Reid! Answer me!" yelled Hotch, desperately wanting to be able to transport himself to where his youngest subordinate was and shook his motionless body.

Agent Rossi stood at the Unit Chief's side looking troubled at the scene unfolding before his eyes.

"Linda, listen to me" said Hotch in an uncharacteristically strained voice. "I need you to help him. Try to wake him up."

The girl looked up, scared and completely lost, with big tears spilling down her face.

"I don't know what to do. I can't... I..." answered Linda in shock.

"Just try to touch his shoulder. I need you to try."

"There's so much blood. I don't... Oh God!" The girl's good hand covered her mouth, looking down and shaking her head no.

"Please, you have to do it." Hotch tried again, but the girl was too much in shock to even move from her spot.

Suddenly, Sebastian Malucci carefully started crawling to Reid's side.

The three men in the BAU room remained in silence, uncertain at what to expect.

The smelly guy placed a hand on Reid's shoulder and slightly shook him.

"Hey, wake up."

Nothing changed. Spencer's body remained in the exact same position, oblivious to the people expecting a reaction.

"Come on, man, open your eyes" said Sebastian.

Nothing.

"Mr. Malucci, check his pulse." Hotch's authoritative voice was heard through the intercom.

Sebastian nodded and placed two fingers under Reid's chin to one side of his neck.

Morgan, Hotch and Rossi waited, holding their breath and hoping for the best.

They were so caught up in their own thoughts and the scene in front of their eyes that they didn't see JJ and Emily entering the room.

JJ had seen the three men up in the BAU room and struggled with her own feet not to run and instead, she helped Emily up the stairs. Once inside the room, she understood the grim look on her co-workers' faces.

"Oh my God!" she gasped, using a hand to cover her mouth.

"What happened?" asked Prentiss, sitting down in a chair, as if her legs couldn't resist her weight any longer.

Without looking at his female subordinates, Hotch answered. "He's been like this since the last fall." He knew he should ask Emily how she was after leaving the hospital, but that would have to wait. He felt as if the situation was getting away from him, no matter how hard he tried to get a grip.

"He has a weak pulse" quietly said Sebastian.

Unable to hold his words any longer, Morgan gave a step forward and asked: "Is he breathing?"

Sebastian looked up, confused at the lack of recognition of that new voice. But without asking anything, he placed a timid hand on Reid's back and felt the young agent's torso going up and down, almost imperceptibly.

"Is he?" asked a crying and distressed Linda.

The smelly guy looked up and nodded.

A huge wave of relief bathed the five BAU members.

"Why isn't he responding then?" Linda's question danced around everybody's mind, but no one had dared to ask it. And no one had the answer for it.

"Hotch, he banged his head. There's no time now. We have to get him out!" Frustration covered every one of Morgan's words.

Hotchner knew exactly how frustrated Morgan felt watching his friend laying there, without being able to help him.

"Reid, if you're listening, you have to wake up" pleaded Hotch.

Just then, the last thing they wanted to hear came out of Anderson's mouth. The agent was standing by the door.

"He's on line two, sir."

"Son of a bitch!" exclaimed Morgan, crashing his fist on the table.

The unit chief sighed, took a deep breath and tried to put his anger in check before answering the phone call.

"Jonathan Sturz." Hotch's voice did not show his pent-up hatred at the man on the other side of the line.

"_Agent Hotchner."_ A hint of laughter and enjoyment presented itself in the Unsub's voice. It reminded Hotch of Foyet's voice, a fact that sent his anger to a sky level.

"_So I see you agent's gave up the fight."_ A malicious loud guffaw rang out in every corner of the room.

JJ closed her eyes, which silently let go a stream of tears that soon covered her cheeks.

"_This is so dramatic. It's like watching a soap opera!"_

"You're wrong. A soap opera is fiction. You're not killing fictional characters; you're killing innocent human beings," Hotch made a pause and added, "just like your son."

Silence filled the room. The federal agent had touched a nerve there.

_"Leave my son out of this or your agent will..." _A loud noise, as if from a far away engine running, was heard, eating up the man's words. _"...the consequences."_

Then the phone call was over, leaving a tense silence dancing around the room.

"Hotch, man, if we keep pushing him, he'll blow up the elevator" Morgan blurted out, pacing back and forth.

"I know, Morgan, but we have to remain calm and work with what we have" sternly said the senior agent.

"Calm?! How can you be calm with Reid laying there, with minutes to live?" The dam holding Derek's anger finally gave up.

"If you can't do it, I'll be forced to take you out of the case" retorted Hotchner.

Rossi cautiously got in between the two furious men. Morgan gave a step forward, standing right in front of his superior, not really considering the consequences of his actions, too blinded by his own rage.

"You wouldn't dare do that" quietly said Morgan, looking directly and almost threateningly at his boss' eyes.

David placed a hand on Derek's chest to stop him from moving any further. Prentiss watched the scene with incredulous eyes, unable to move from her seat.

Ignoring the battle of wills of the two alpha male agents, JJ kept her eyes fixed on the screen. And then she saw it.

"Guys!" JJ exclaimed, drawing the attention of her colleagues and pointing at the screen with her hand.

The four agents looked at her, then at the screen and finally Rossi asked in confusion: "What?"

"He's moving" answered JJ in a whisper.

Indeed, Spencer Reid was timidly moving his long thin fingers, slowly regaining consciousness.

* * *

**WOW, that's a bit longer than I'm used to...**

**So what do you think?? They have one hour to find the UNSUB... I better hurry so you don't have to wait so long to find out what's going to happen. But let me tell you, prepare yourselves, the end is coming...**

**As always, thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**P.S.**

**Slery: Do you still hate me??**

**Final Frontier Voyager: Was it worth the wait??**


	15. Chapter XIV

**And here we're again. Sorry for the delay...**

**Thank you all for the reviews. Thanks for still reading this story.**

**DISCLAIMER: The usual thing.**

**ENJOY!**

**DownDown DownDown DownDown DownDown DownDown DownDown**

Chapter XIV

Two puffy, teary-red eyes looked at themselves in the mirror. Eyes that showed the innermost feelings of the owner of those eyes.

Terror / frustration / sadness / anger.

Two plump and delicate hands with colorful fingernails splashed fresh water over the flushed face holding the eyes.

"Get a grip of yourself, damn it!"

Penelope Garcia looked at herself in the mirror of the ladies restroom in the FBI headquarters.

She wanted to see the good in people, but she was finding it really hard to believe that Jonathan Sturz had a pinch of goodness left in his bitter self. At first, she'd felt pity for the man, after discovering he had lost his own son. But for God's sake, she'd lost both her parents at an early age and even then it never crossed her mind taking revenge for that loss killing people, taking the lives of innocent, sweet people like her baby genius.

A new wave of sadness assaulted her, tears threatening to leave her eyes. But she fought with all her self against them.

"Come on!" She exclaimed out loud. Her face looked like a punching bag for all the crying.

Like if that woman on the mirror wasn't herself, she said: "You can do it. You're going to freshen up your make-up and leave now."

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath to calm herself and started her task ahead.

After only a few seconds, she felt ready to leave the security of the small room. The FBI technical analyst gave one last look at her own reflection. And with renewed determination, stated:

"This isn't over till it's over." She paused. "And it'll be over when Reid is safe again with us."

With purposeful steps, she strode out of the ladies restroom and took the corridor which would lead her to the BAU meeting room.

When she entered the room, she felt the tension could be cut into half with a knife. Nobody noticed her presence, as everybody was too caught up in the scene unfolding before their eyes. Each member of the team had their eyes glued to the screen as if trying to send their strength to the youngest member of the group who seemed to be struggling to move his body, even if that movement was almost hardly noticeable.

"That's it, baby, you can do it," whispered Garcia, as if she was right by Reid's side and not miles away from the boy.

**DownDown**** DownDown DownDown DownDown DownDown DownDown**

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid groaned, shifting a little his battered body, slowly regaining consciousness. His eyelids felt like they had a ton of bricks attached to them.

"_Reid." _Someone was calling his name.

"Hey, do you hear me?" Another voice asked. This one was closer.

_What's going on?_ He asked himself trying to piece together the voices, the worry he sensed in them and the pain he felt in his head which seemed to be yelling at him in discomfort.

And then he remembered everything.

As if startled by the memories of his hellishly reality, he pushed his body up with the help of his arms, with his eyes still closed. Unfortunately, he did it so fast that a split of a second later, he felt like falling down again.

"Take it easy, man" said someone by his side, placing a hand under his armpit to give him support, preventing Spencer's face from crashing down against the floor.

"I... mm..." The FBI agent coughed squishing his eyes, in an attempt to control his words and his thoughts.

"_Reid, are you OK?"_

_Hotch._

Spencer carefully opened his eyes, blinking several times before finally shaking away the blurriness in his eyes, and slowly looked around.

To one side, Linda was looking at him with tears in her eyes. Then to the other side, he found Sebastian giving him a concern look, as if waiting for a sign that would show him that Spencer wouldn't fall down if he took the hand supporting part of his weight.

Apparently, Mr. Malucci considered it was okay to take his hand off and so he did. And asked again: "You OK?"

Reid gradually nodded, sitting in a more comfortable position. He let his head rest against the elevator's back wall and closed his eyes once again. He lifted one timid hand to feel his head. There, his fingers felt the sticky, warm liquid running from his head wound.

He flinched and half-opened his eyes enough to see the small pool of blood on the floor. He had to breathe deeply and gulped to stop the bile from raising in his throat.

"Here."

He looked at Linda who was holding a handkerchief in her hand.

"Put it on your head." She said encouragingly.

He cleared his throat. "Th.. Thanks."

A couple of seconds later, he heard a well-known cell phone ringtone. The noise succeeded in increasing his headache. He knew his team was surely the ones on the other side of the line. He searched with his eyes while keeping his hands over his ears trying to deafen the stubborn noise that seemed to be piercing through his skull.

Suddenly, the noise stopped and Spencer saw Linda holding the phone in her hand stretched out at him.

The blonde girl smiled at his grateful look. He took the phone.

"Yeah."

"_Reid."_

"Hi, Hotch" said Spencer recognizing his boss' voice.

"_How are you feeling?"_

"I'm fine. Don't worry." He lied.

"_Reid."_ His boss' stern voice showed how bad he was in the "lies" arena.

The young FBI agent sighed and again rested his head against the wall behind him, closing his eyes. "My head is killing me."

"_I figured. Are you hurt anywhere else? From here, we just see your head wound._

Reid assessed his body. Despite some discomfort in his whole body, limbs screaming to stretch out and his unbearable need for coffee, he was fine. "No, just my head."

"_Alright, just hang in there. We have new leads, we'll get you out of there."_ His unit chief paused. _"I promise. Trust us."_

"I do. You guys do what you have to do. I'm not going anywhere." Tiredly answered Reid.

**DownDown**** DownDown DownDown DownDown DownDown DownDown**

**BAU **

"_I'm not going anywhere."_

SSA Aaron Hotchner wondered if his subordinate had said that in an attempt to make a joke.

"I'll call you later." Hotch ended the phone call and looked at his worn-out team.

"Come on, guys, let's get this bastard." He stated.

"OK, so Miss Jacobs was murdered in her house before we got to talk to her" explained Rossi, taking a seat.

"Garcia." Hotch gave the cue for the technical analyst to start giving all the information she had found.

"Yes, sir. I've been doing some research on our UNSUB's past" stated Penelope.

"And?" encouraged Prentiss.

"Well, nothing. Just what we already knew" answered Garcia.

"Please, tell me there's a 'but' coming" begged JJ.

"But then I checked Janey Jacobs' past. Here's where things get yummy. It turns out that Jonathan Sturz's father had an affair with Janey Jacobs' mother." continued Garcia.

"The UNSUB and Miss Jacobs were siblings?" asked Prentiss, not quite believing that the man had actually killed his own half-sister.

Penelope nodded her head. "Mr. Sturz didn't want to have anything to do with the girl, so she kept her mother's last name. But when she was a teenager, she wanted to meet her father and started looking for him. By the time, she found him, the old man was already dead, but she found out she had a half-brother." The woman took a deep breath.

"And they had different last names we didn't make the connection between them before" added Morgan pacing back and forth.

"Garcia, do you have anything else?" inquired Hotch.

"Please, bossman, are oranges orange?" She smiled and continued. "I crisscrossed every piece of background information I could find on Miss Jacobs and the UNSUB. And you know, I wouldn't stop until I found something useful." Garcia's words stumbled out of her mouth at a high speed.

Derek got behind her chair and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Princess, you know I love your voice, but we don't have much time."

"Ok, at the request of my chocolate God, I'll make the story short" said Penelope, smiling at Derek, who smiled back.

"I managed to find 2 addresses connected to both the UNSUB and his half-sister. Both within a 10 miles radius of the university."

"Good, but we don't have time to check on both and go back to the university" informed Prentiss getting to her feet, unable to remain seated.

Then, Hotch remembered something he had heard in the UNSUB's last call.

"Garcia, play again the last phone call."

The technical analyst typed something on her computer and the UNSUB's malicious voice started to be heard through the loudspeakers.

"_Agent Hotchner. __So I see you agent's gave up the fight."_

Unable to stand the man's mocking tone, Hotch requested: "Fast forward a bit."

"There!" exclaimed the unit chief.

"What is that?" asked JJ at the engine like noise heard over Sturz' voice.

"Garcia, can you isolate that sound?" asked Morgan. The woman nodded and they distinctively heard what it was.

"It's a train" said Rossi.

Penelope rapidly started working on her computer.

Not half a second later, she exclaimed: "There's a train track one block from on of the locations I found earlier." The excitement was evident in her voice. They had finally been able to catch a break.

"We found you, son of a bitch" whispered Morgan. Planting a kiss on Garcia's cheek, he said: "I knew you wouldn't fail me, momma."

"Ok, people, let's go get him" ordered Hotch. "Prentiss, David, we'll go to this address to get Sturz." Then he turned to Derek. "Morgan, JJ, go with the SWAT Bomb Squad to the university."

The team was already on their feet ready for action.

"Morgan, as soon as we neutralize the UNSUB, I'll let you know when to deactivate the bomb in the elevator's base." Morgan nodded and turned towards the door.

"And Morgan" called Hotch. Derek turned around to face him. "If you don't receive my call, I want you out of the building before the clock hits 2 pm." said the unit chief.

Confused, Morgan answered: "But Hotch..."

"Nothing. I don't want another agent inside the building if something goes wrong. It's an order."

"Yes, sir." But Derek Morgan knew in his heart that he wouldn't leave his youngest friend in there alone. It was an order he was too willing to ignore and later, he would face the full consequences of his actions.

"Come on, we have 30 minutes to save out boy" said Rossi heading for the door.

Penelope watched them leave and when she was alone in the room, she turned to face the screen portraying the image of their young friend.

"Hang in there, sweetheart, they're coming for you."

**DownDown**** DownDown DownDown DownDown DownDown DownDown**

**I'm not too happy with this chapter, but well... There you have it. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! See you next time!**


	16. Chapter XV

**Remember me? Sorry it's been so long... **

**Thank you very much for all the reviews and messages... (double reviews). I'll try to update sooner next time... but I can't promise anything.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine... except the words.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Chapter XV

It was 1:30 P.M. of an autumn afternoon. The sky was clear and the sun bathed the trees of the park in front of Strayer University with its rays. This park that was used to being the meeting point for many students, was uncharacteristically quiet and empty, as the surroundings of the university were closed to civilians on this particular day. Behind the yellow police crime scene tape, stood crews from all the TV networks covering the news of an elevator stuck with three people inside.

"We're reporting live from Strayer University waiting to receive more information on the FBI agent and the two civilians trapped in this ill-fated elevator. According to our sources, Agent Jennifer Jareau from the Behavioral Analysis Unit is on her way to give us the latest news regarding the fate of these three elevator hostages. For IKYdU news, I'm Ali Gray Gibson."

Just then, a hasty black SUV, with lights and sirens on, appeared from the corner with a black SWAT truck in its tail. Cameras recorded their every move.

The TV news reporters gathered together and started shouting questions at the blonde media liaison approaching them at a fast pace.

* * *

**Elevator – Interior**

Unaware of the frenzy taking place outside the four iron walls enclosing him, Dr. Spencer Reid sat with his eyes closed, back against the elevator's wall, and a million things flooding his mind. The cut on his head had finally stopped bleeding, leaving a trail of dry blood down his locks on one side of his head. Would he be spending his last minutes alive in there? Was it the end? He trusted his team, but every story had an ending and not every ending was a bed of roses.

A sighed at his side forced him to open his eyes. Wether he liked it or not, he had to remain calm. He was a trained FBI agent and for the sake of everyone in that enclose capsule, he needed to be the voice of reason.

"In less than 30 minutes, we're going to die, right?" asked Linda in a small voice, looking at her hands like a scared little girl.

Despite his pounding headache, Spencer shook his head no. "Don't worry, we'll make it. My team is working on getting us out."

"There's something I just don't get. What if we survive the next fall?" asked the smelly guy at Reid's other side.

"_The bomb."_ Reid remained in silence, trying to find the best answer for that question, an answer that wouldn't smashed the hopes is these two young beings by his side.

"Will this mad man let us out of here or what?" continued Sebastian. His two eyes were focused on Reid. The young agent felt under the lights in an interrogation room. Rapidly weighing his options, he chose to tell them the whole truth. They deserved to know.

Reid took a deep breath and answered: "No." Forcing his eyes to look at the two pair of eyes staring at him, he continued: "There's a bomb in the elevator shaft. After the next fall" -_and last- _he thought to himself, "it's supposed to go off."

Linda covered her mouth with one of her hands, but a sob managed to escape her lips and tears drowned her eyes. She looked terrified and Reid's heart filled with sadness at the image. She was too young to die. They all were. He damned the moment he decided to take that elevator.

Unexpectedly, he heard Sebastian give a small laugh. Reid looked at him, hardly believing his ears. Upon deciding to tell them about the bomb, the FBI agent had actually been afraid of the guy's reaction. In fact, he was actually expecting something along the lines of a sentence full of the most illustrative R-rated curses ever heard or and anger fit, ending with his body as a punching bag to release the guy's fury, but no, Sebastian just laughed.

Although there was no amusement in his laugh.

Ignoring Reid's incredulous eyes, Mr. Malucci rested his back against the wall and closing his eyes, he said: "Who would have thoughts I'd die by the side of a G-man? Man, that's bad luck." Unconsciously, he embraced his previously dislocated shoulder with his other arm.

"We're not going to die" stated Spencer quietly.

"Oh really? And how do you know that?" Sebastian looked at Reid, making him feel uncomfortable.

The smelly guy was right. He didn't know it, but he felt that was the right thing to say at the moment, even if he didn't quite believe it himself. Despite the fact that he had something the other two elevator prisoners didn't have, confidence in his team, he seriously doubted they'd make it out alive. After all, they were not miracle workers.

As if sensing the discomfort inside the elevator, Reid's cell phone started ringing. Spencer looked at the displayed and breathed deeply.

"Saved by the bell" muttered Sebastian.

"Reid" answered the young genius.

"_Hey, kid. How's it going?"_ asked Morgan on the other side of the line.

"Fine... bored" he answered. _"Terrified"_ he thought.

"_I hear you."_ Morgan paused and Reid heard different kind of noises on the other side.

"_Just wanted to let you know that we__'re with the SWAT team right outside... We have the UNSUB. The rest of the team went after him. As soon as I hear Hotch has him, we'll get you out of there"_ explained Morgan.

They just had to wait for the rest of the team to take the UNSUB into custody to be released. But would they get to do it on time?

"Oh, ok. I guess we'll just have to keep waiting." Reid's voice sounded as deflated as a flat tire.

Noticing this, Morgan continued: _"You do that and I'll see you in a couple of minutes and maybe we could go for a cup of sugar and coffee."_

A slight smile appeared on the youngest BAU agent's face. "That would be good."

Morgan laughed: _"Ok, kid. Got to go."_

"OK." Spencer paused trying to decide what to say next. "Uhm.. Morgan?"

"_Yeah, kid."_

Reid sighed: "Thank you... for everything."

It took a couple of split seconds for Morgan to understand the real meaning of those words. Reid had given up the fight.

"_Don't do that. You know... We'll get you out, Reid."_ Words filled with determination left Morgan's mouth.

"Yeah, but... You know." Reid had so many things in his mind, but couldn't put them into words. Was this the last time he'd ever talk to his friend?

Anyways, he didn't have time to add anything else, as Morgan answered_: "I know, and like I said, we'll get all of you out of there. I promise"_ said Morgan. _"Now, I have to go. I'll see you soon, kid."_

"Yeah, good luck." Reid pressed the key to end the call. When doing it, he noticed his battery was dying.

"_Great"_ he thought with sarcasm.

Linda's eyes were pleading to receive some good news. "So?"

The federal agent didn't want to give them too much information knowing that the UNSUB was also listening to their every word.

"They're working on getting us out" he vaguely answered.

"Well, I guess we'll find out if they did a good job in about..." Sebastian checked his watch "10 minutes." Then he put his earphones back on and lost himself in his loud music. "These could be his last 10 minutes on earth and he is willing to spend them listening to that" Reid pondered, but he'd learned different people coped differently with stress, even if two people were in the same context, they'd behave in their own way. And that was the case inside the elevator.

On the one hand, Sebastian Malucci retracted to himself. As a young man, he wanted to look like this wasn't affecting him, but Reid knew better. The young guy in black clothes was as terrified as the rest of them.

On the other hand, Linda looked desperate, unable to digest her horrific reality. The pain from her broken wrist had been forgotten in the realization that her life could get to an end in just a matter of minutes.

With a renewed wave of tears rolling down her eyes, she grabbed her phone and dialed a number.

Trying to give her space, even if not physical, Spencer rested his back on the wall and concentrated on a spot on the roof.

"Hi, mom" Linda whispered into the phone, her voice strained with tears. "I don't have too much time, but... I just wanted to tell you... you're the best mom in the world." Linda was sobbing and sniffling, unable to control herself. "I love you, ok?"

The desperation heard on the voice on the other side of the line was almost palpable.

Reid closed his eyes and gulped forcing himself not to let his own tears escape. However, one succeeded in trailing out the corner of his eye. Then he remembered something he heard in some movie JJ and Garcia forced him to watch. There, some British actor, he didn't remember his name, said that when the planes hit the Twin Towers, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. As Linda was doing, in their moment of despair, they thought about their loved ones, and Spencer realized he had a phone call to make.

He speed dialed the number, hoping his hone battery wouldn't die on him too soon. The phone ringed for a few seconds before he heard the well-known voice of the person answering on the other side of the line.

* * *

**BAU Room**

Penelope Garcia had to breathe deeply three times before she felt her heart was ready to answer the phone call. She had been listening to the conversation inside the elevator. And when she realized Reid was calling her, a weird sense of déjà vu sent shivers down her spine.

"Hi, Reid."

The technical analyst saw her friend looking straight at the camera, sensing she was watching him. Nothing could make her take her attention away from that screen.

"_I could have used some of your witty remarks"_ said her junior G-man.

"Well, I guess I've run out of witticism for today. You'll have to wait until tomorrow" said Penelope in an unusually sad voice.

"_Yeah"_ was all she got as a response. She mentally slapped herself for not being able to lift the young man's spirit. The blonde woman didn't have time to think of something, as the trapped FBI agent continued.

"_Garcia, I need to ask you something"_ timidly said Reid. _"Do you remember the message I asked you to record in the anthrax case... for my mom?"_ Silent tears rolled down Penelope's cheeks as she saw her friend lowering his head until his eyes were looking at his hand as if something really interesting was going on down there.

How could she forget that message? She remembered his broken voice saying: _"Hi, mom. This is Spencer. I just really wanted you to know that I love you, and I need you to know that I spend every day of my life proud to be your son."_

"_Garcia?"_ The voice on the other side brought her back from her memories.

"Yes, honey, I remember" she answered, swallowing tear after tear, although she knew Reid could easily notice her crying.

"_Do you still have it?"_

She had thought of erasing it, in a futile attempt to forget that day, but instead, she had moved it to a folder in her computer, a folder that contained many other things she wanted to forget concerning her team.

"I have it, yes."

She heard him sighed. _"Good."_ After some silent seconds, Reid explained:_ "My battery is dangerously low and I don't know if I'll have enough time to talk to her... or if she'll be lucid enough to understand my words."_ Spencer cleared his voice, fighting against the huge lump in his throat.

"_If anything happens, you know what to do."_ He finished.

"Spencer Reid, listen to me" said Garcia in a mom-like voice. "Come on, look at me... or well, at the camera." The young man raised his eyes to face at the camera, not sure what to expect.

"You may be a magician, but our unit chief and the rest of the team are like Yoda and the Force on steroids. They'll find a way to take you out."

At this, Spencer gave the camera a broad smile, full of emotions.

"That's it, honey. Never lose that smile or your hope."

Then she heard the blonde girl by Reid's side saying in a sob: _"Oh God, we have one minute."_

* * *

**Elevator – Interior**

"It's over" added Sebastian, still keeping his eyes closed.

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die" Linda kept repeating to herself, rocking her body back and forth. Reid had been so focused on his conversation with Garcia that he hadn't noticed when the girl ended her own phone call.

The FBI agent looked up at the camera and then at his sides, trying to figure out the best way to deal with this. In less than a minute, he could be closing his eyes for eternity.

"We should prepare for the next fall" he said calmly. A calmness that didn't match his inner turmoil.

"What's the point?" asked Sebastian giving up all hopes.

"Just grab the handrail... Please." Reid was exhausted. He didn't feel like arguing again.

"I don't want to die" Linda recited once and again in a scared voice while grabbing the handrail with her good hand.

30 seconds

"Penelope" said Spencer to the woman at Quantico. "Would you stay in the line with me?" he asked with a tiny voice like a sick child asking his mother to be by his side.

"_Of course, baby."_ By now, Reid could hear the tears in the analyst's voice.

He licked his lips: "I guess the Force is not on our side today after all."

"_You'll make it. I'm here with you."_

10 seconds

"I hope so. Thank you... you know." Reid's heart felt heavy with unspoken emotions. He'd never been good at talking about his feelings, after years of bottling them up. "Tell that to the others." As his hands, his voice was shacking.

"_You'll be fine."_ Garcia tried to comfort him.

* * *

**BAU Room**

Garcia received no answer. "Reid."

Nothing.

"Reid?"

Desperation grew inside her.

* * *

**Elevator – Interior**

"Garcia?" Silence.

"Hello?" Reid's cell phone battery had just died.

He closed his eyes, trying to ignore Linda's sobs, and grabbed the handrail for dear life.

His elevator journey was about to end.

He heard three terrifying beeps and his body felt the force of the last fall taking him down.

* * *

**Oh my God! What have I done?**

**Thanks for reading! Stay tuned...**


	17. Chapter XVI

**Hello, guys! ****I'm really sorry this chapter took so long to get here. This was going to be the end, but as I was planning many things for this one, I had to cut it in two. So this part is quite short...**

**DISCLAIMER: You already know...**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**Chapter XVI**

**1:****40 pm**

The minutes passed full of tension, anxiety and fear. They were getting closer and closer. Closer to the end. Closer to the deadline. "Deadline", that's a funny word. According to the dictionary, it's a time limit, as for payment of a debt or completion of an assignment. In this case, that fine "line" separated an FBI agent from his death. Would he make it? Would his team succeed in saving his life one more time? Would he be able to leave that elevator alive and get the opportunity of sharing the rest of his life side by side with his team, his friends, his family?

"We are one block away" informed Emily Prentiss riding in the passenger seat of the FBI SUV being driven by her boss.

SSA David Rossi was riding in the back seat of said SUV, which was closely followed by a black SWAT truck. Aaron Hotchner had too many things in his mind to utter a word. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel as if it was Delapsus Sum's throat. His unreadable stern mask didn't reveal the worries in his heart, but his subordinates knew well what he was feeling, they were all sharing the same fears. The thought of losing the youngest member of the team was unbearable, but very much a possibility at this point with less than 20 minutes to find the UNSUB and save Reid.

When they got to their destination, they exited the vehicle in a rush. The three BAU agents, wearing the FBI bullet proof vests, took out their guns.

In front of them stood two old side by side duplex houses. The one on the left was the one the agents were interested in. They'd supposedly find Jonathan Sturz in there.

Hotch ordered Rossi to go with one SWAT sniper and two more agents to the nearest building to the left side of the house.

"If you have the shot, take it."

Rossi nodded, adjusting his earpiece to stay in contact with the team, and ran, with the other three men rushing behind him.

SAC Aaron Hotchner lifted an earpiece to his own ear and with two fingers, and no words, he ordered two SWAT agents to go to the rear end of the house.

Then he looked at Emily and started advancing towards the front door of the worn out house standing before them like a ghost.

* * *

**Strayer University – Exterior**

**1:40 pm**

Jennifer Jareau left the group of journalists and other civilians gathered behind the yellow police crime scene tape and headed towards the group of SWAT agents receiving orders from SSA Derek Morgan.

Morgan looked at JJ as she approached him.

"The perimeter is secured. The officers are keeping everybody far away from the scene."

"Good," answered a worried Morgan. "JJ, I want you to go back there. You should stay far away from the building too... just in case."

JJ nodded. "What about you?"

Derek looked at the building, his experienced eyes studying the scene. "I'm going in."

The media liaison shook her head no. "No, Derek, you heard what Hotch said. You have to wait outside until they have the UNSUB in custody. What if -"

"I know what he said" Morgan cut her off. "I won't leave Reid alone in there."

"No, Morgan, this is a mistake" tried JJ again.

"JJ, go over there and stay behind the tape." Derek turned around and signaled the SWAT agents to follow him.

"No! Morgan, wait!" yelled JJ, aware of the fact that her fellow agent would not change his mind. Some seconds later, she lost sight of Morgan and the other men as they entered the building.

"_Please, be safe."_ JJ prayed in her mind, not willing to accept the fact that she could lose two of her closest friends in just minutes.

Trying to regain her composure, JJ breathed deeply hiding the fears flooding her blue eyes, turned around and walked fast towards the spot where curious civilians were waiting.

* * *

**1:****45 pm**

Emily Prentiss placed a careful hand on the doorknob and nodded, showing Hotch she was ready to open the door.

"Go" whispered the unit chief.

The female FBI agent opened wide the unlocked door to the house, gun in hand, and let Hotch enter the room first.

They flashed their guns, right, left, center, but the room was empty with the exception of a cheap and scruffy looking sofa to the right. Just in front of them there was a corridor and at the end of it, they saw the other agents getting in through the back door.

For a split of a second, Emily unconsciously allowed herself to think they had the wrong house. She knew they wouldn't have enough time to look for another place. The clock was ticking. They were running out of time.

Putting those thoughts aside, Prentiss focused on the task ahead. They couldn't and wouldn't give up. Emily and Hotch, from one end of the corridor, and the two SWAT agents, from the other end, stealthily covered the length in between them until they reached a door on the left in the exact middle of it.

Aaron Hotchner, with Prentiss and the other two agents behind him, stood outside that door. The BAU unit chief heard a noise on the other side.

"_This is it."_ He thought. _"Please, let this be it."_ He begged.

That wooden door could distance him from the person making the team live a nightmare, endangering the life of a young man he truly admired, respected and cared for. That door could literally be the fine line between life and death.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for what would come. For better or for worse, he felt in the pit of his stomach the end was creeping around the corner.

Emily once again put her hand on the doorknob and quietly tried to open the door. It was locked from the inside. As she couldn't open it, she gave a step back and let Hotch do the honors of forcefully opening the wooden barrier silently standing in front of them. With a Morgan-like kick, the unit chief ripped open the door, making the hinges fly off in the tense air.

"FBI! Stay where you are!"

Four guns aimed at the grinning man on the other side.

"Well, hello. So kind of you to come here to see the final act with me."

Four pairs of eyes slowly turned to the device in Jonathan Sturz's hand.

Aaron Hotchner realized he hadn't been wrong. This was the end.

* * *

**I told you, just a short update. Next one is already on paper. I just have to figure out a few things and it'll ****soon be here for you to read.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it! (And your wonderful threats are truly... inspiring)**


	18. Chapter XVII

**Were you waiting for this? The end has arrived!**

**I want to thank you very much for reading this story and reviewing it. Your ****interest and reviews mean the world to me. (And your threats too! Come on, the-vampire-act, put the wolves to rest) Warning: Character death...**

**Disclaimer: In my mind, they're mine, mine and only mine...**

**Without further ado, the last chapter...**

**As always, ENJOY!**

* * *

Chapter XVII

"Jonathan Sturz, drop the device and surrender!" Aaron Hotchner's voice flooded every corner of that tiny room which was packed with tension.

Emily Prentiss looked around the poorly lighted room. No bed, just a small brown and clearly filthy couch on one side. There was an old plastic table by a window and on top of it, a Dell laptop. At the bottom of the screen of the personal computer, there was a clock with red numbers displaying the time.

_01:50:15_

_01:50:16_

And behind those numbers, she could see the live image of the elevator interior. Prentiss' eyes focused on the skinny young man sitting on the floor, with his back to the wall and his eyes firmly locked on the roof of the enclose compartment. Prentiss could only wonder how scared her friend was.

_01:50:20_

Then her eyes reluctantly unglued themselves from the screen and lay on the man with hauntingly bloodshot eyes in front of them. The man was wearing a stained black shirt and grey sweatpants, nothing on his feet. A stubbly beard of several days' growth added to his scruffy look.

_01:50:45_

"Why should I?" asked the UNSUB in an arrogant way. "You're already here. This ends here for me, why don't go down with a big blast?"

"It doesn't have to end like this" argued Aaron Hotchner, giving one studied step forward towards the man, who at the same time gave one step back, shortening the distance between his body and his computer.

_01:51:02_

"I think we both know I won't leave this place alive" calmly stated the sick man that had been tormenting the BAU team for the past five hours.

"Mr. Sturz, I know I'd feel lost if I lost my son, but you don't have to kill any more people." Hotch tried to reason with the man.

"So you have a son, agent?" asked the UNSUB.

"Yes, I do" honestly answered Aaron.

_01:51:33_

"Well, imagine what you'd feel if you had him by your side one minute and lost him the next" explained the man.

Hotch remembered what he felt when Foyet had threatened to kill Jack. Sturz was right, losing his son was unthinkable, he'd be devastated.

_01:52:00_

"Look, I'm really sorry for your loss, but you can stop the killings here. No one else has to die."

_01:52:15_

"No, you're wrong. I'll teach you all a lesson, I'll show you what it is like to lose a loved one" said Jonathan Sturz, anxiously.

"You can stop this right now. It's not too late" argued Hotch, taking one more step forward, his gun aiming at the man.

_01:52:45_

"You're wrong again. It's too late for me" stated the UNSUB. And then, moving a few inches back and pointing at the screen with the hand holding the device, he added: "And it's too late for them."

Aaron Hotchner realized the man was beyond reasoning. They had to act soon before it was in fact too late.

* * *

**Strayer University – Interior**

SSA Derek Morgan and the bomb squad agents ran inside the deserted building towards a room with a sign on the door reading: "Authorized personnel only. Elevator controls."

As they entered the room, they saw a red light flickering intermittently on a panel on the wall showing that the number two elevator was stuck on the fourth floor, the last stop before crashing down to the bottom of the shaft where the bomb silently lay.

Morgan then noticed a door to one side. "Where does that door go?"

"It goes directly to the elevator shaft" answered Agent McFay.

"I want to take a look inside" informed Morgan. Agent McFay grabbed a key from the wall and unlocked the door.

The FBI agent opened the door and got his head inside the small, dark compartment.

First, he looked up and saw the exterior floor of the elevator hanging four floors above. And then he looked down and saw the explosive device in the middle of the shaft's floor. He studied the artifact from his spot some feet above. Derek saw red, yellow, blue and green wires entwined together. He recognized the kind of bomb as soon as he saw it. To dismantle it, he'd need to cut two wires connected to the core of the device at the exact same moment.

But from where he was, he couldn't make out which wires. When the time came, he'd need to go down there to figure out that before the elevator's last fall.

By that time, he already knew they'd not have time to open the doors of the elevator to take the hostages out of the building before 2 o'clock. Their only hope was for Hotch, Emily and Rossi to control the UNSUB and for Morgan to dismantle the bomb. Unfortunately, Reid and the other two young people trapped in there would have to withstand another four-floor fall before the end of their nightmare.

With one last look inside the shaft, Derek Morgan took one step back in the elevator controls' room and closed the door, not knowing if he'd ever have the chance to go back and save his friend.

* * *

_01:53:15_

"So, Agent Hotchner, how will this end?" asked Jonathan Sturz in an eery voice, clearly enjoying the situation.

The words "suicide by cop" flooded Hotch's mind.

"You do realize that the clock is ticking, right?" continued the USUB in an unbearable monologue. "Whether you, this pretty lady here" pointing at Prentiss, "or these two agents shoot me, I'll die, but first I'll make sure I press this little button here." The man moved his hand in the air to show them the device, as if he thought the two FBI agents and the two SWAT agents hadn't noticed it before. "And _BOOM_, bye-bye elevator. It'll be my final victory."

_01:54:05_

Without uttering a word and mastering his stern look, Aaron Hotchner took once again one slight step in front of him.

Stepping back, the UNSUB unknowingly made a fatal mistake. He placed himself right in front of his computer, standing right next to the window.

_01:54:56_

And then, the BAU Unit Chief said: "Wrong, our victory."

Jonathan Sturz never heard the flying bullet that crashed the window and found its place in his temple, the bullet shot by the sniper appointed on the roof of the next door house, following Rossi's orders.

In a split of a second, as the UNSUB started falling to the ground, Hotch launched himself forward, stretching his arms, to try and catch the device in the hand of the, by now, dead man before it reached its final destination.

With the grace of a rugby player tackling an opponent, Aaron fell down with a thud. To everyone's relief, the detonator's downward flight got to an end, resting on both of Hotch's hands.

_01:55:10_

"_Is everyone alright?"_ asked Rossi through Hotchner's earpiece.

"Nice catch" said Prentiss trying to help Hotch to his feet.

Then he answered Rossi's question: "The scene is secured." The FBI agent carefully handed the device to one of the SWAT agents.

As soon as his hands were empty, he grabbed his phone and called Morgan.

"_Hotch, tell me you have him"_ said Derek over the phone, too tense to even say "Hello" or, the usual, "Morgan" greeting.

"Go!"

_01:55:59_

No more words were needed. The phone call ended.

Aaron Hotchner looked at Prentiss and they both left the building without sparing a look back to the corpse sprawled in a growing pool of blood on the floor.

_01:57:16_

Outside, Rossi was already waiting for them by the SUV that would take them to Strayer University.

Now, it was up to Morgan to save Reid, Linda and Sebastian, with only less than three minutes to two o'clock.

* * *

**Strayer University – Interior**

_01:55:15_

SSA Derek Morgan had been pacing around the room, trying to remain calm and focused on the task ahead. He tried to get his emotions in check, and stay relaxed, forbidding himself to explore the "what if" scenarios he would have to face if he couldn't dismantle the bomb in time.

He failed miserably.

As soon as he felt his phone vibrating, he answered, pushing all those thoughts to the back of his head.

"Hotch, tell me you have him."

"_Go!"_

_01:55:59_

No more words were needed between the two members of a team that worked together like a Swiss watch.

Derek quickly hung up and tossed his phone on a table by the door.

"Okay, guys, this is it. Let's get these people out" determinedly stated the FBI agent.

_01:56:20_

Agent McFay opened the door to the shaft and allowed Morgan to go down. "Good luck, sir."

Derek nodded and started his way down using the iron ladder attached to the wall, covering three steps at a time.

Anxiously trying to reach the bottom as soon as possible, he gave a jump and landed with both feet on the floor. He checked his watch. 01:57:00. He had three minutes to put an end to this mad reality.

With extreme care, he approached the device with a measured step. He crouched down by its side taking the pliers out of his pants' right pocket. His eyes studied the bomb bit by bit.

Two wires, one blue, one green, stuck out of the right side of the device, like a bicolor rainbow, and ended in the middle of it, connected to the center of two charges of C4, from where another pair of wires, one red and one yellow, stuck out to end at the left side of the artifact. Lowering his head to the floor, he checked the bottom of the bomb.

_01:58:00_

After this quick assessment, he lifted his upper body knowing exactly what he needed to do. First, he had to cut two of the wires at the top; the ones connected to the detonator. And then he had to cautiously cut the straps at the bottom and take the bomb out of the way of the elevator, or the C4 charges would explode under its crashing weight.

_01:58:40_

Derek closed his eyes and breathed deeply to calm his nerves and steady his shacking hand.

"Let's do this." He said to himself.

Morgan took the pliers to the center of the bomb where the four wires were entwined together.

"Sir, you have one minute." Agent McFay's voice was heard from some feet above.

Ignoring the SWAT agent, Derek lowered his head until his eyes were at the same level as the device. And then he saw it.

Only the green and the red wires were connected to the C4. Without losing one more fraction of a second, he first cut the green wire and then the red one.

_01:59:20_

Morgan let out a sigh of relief, trying to relax his tensed muscles. Now, it was time for him to cut the straps and take the C4 charges away from the next stopping point of the elevator.

"30 seconds!"

He brought the pliers closer to the straps at the bottom and tried to cut them. One of the straps gave way, but another one remained almost intact.

"Come on, come on. Damn it!" Sweat covered Morgan's black T-shirt.

He tried again and heard the sound that indicated him that the C4 charges were free and ready to be moved.

_01:59:50_

The FBI agent put the pliers back in his pocket and used both hands to lift the bomb. Quickly, but avoiding any sudden movement, he got to his feet and gave one step back towards the wall.

But then, he heard three beeps coming from some floors above; to be exact, from inside the elevator.

"Time's over! Get out!" McFay desperately shouted.

All their efforts had been in vain after all? Morgan looked up and saw the floor of the elevator coming down towards him at great speed. He heard Linda's terrified screams and then everything...

...went black.

* * *

**That's it. Thank you, guys!**


	19. Chapter XVII Bis

**Oops, I forgot to mention... Warning: ****"Original" Character death...**

**And silly me, I forgot to add the "real" ending.**

**Now, ENJOY! :0)**

* * *

**02:01:00**

"_You've reached SSA Derek Morgan. Leave your name and phone number and I'll call you as soon as I can."_

_Beep_

Emily Prentiss heard Derek's voicemail message for the second time. She was in the backseat of the high-speed SUV with Rossi behind the wheel and Hotch on the passenger seat.

"Still nothing?" asked Rossi never taking his eyes off the road or his foot off the pedal.

Emily shook her head no, even though Rossi was not looking at her, and then, focused her eyes on Hotch who was holding his phone by his ear.

"_You've reached SSA Dr. Spencer Reid. I can't answer right now. Please, leave your name and phone number and I'll call you as soon as possible. Thank you."_

_Beep_

The Unit Chief closed his eyes trying to push back the worries engulfing his heart. He couldn't lose two of his best agents. He just couldn't...

* * *

"Agent Morgan, can you hear me?" shouted Agent McFay.

Derek Morgan opened his eyes and breathed deeply. He felt as if he hadn't breathed in years. He looked up and then down, not understanding what had happened.

He was with his back plastered to the wall, holding the bomb against his chest as if it was a baby. The only source of light was coming from the open door some feet above, where Agent McFay was standing, calling his name.

After a few seconds, he realized what had happened. He was standing right in between the shaft wall and the exterior iron wall of the elevator.

He had succeeded, but as much as he wanted to relax his tensed body, he still had to go up the ladder, hand the bomb to the SWAT agents and most importantly, take Reid out.

* * *

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid felt his head spinning. He felt he couldn't breathe and was completely confused. Someone was crying. A woman. Linda.

"We made it!" said another voice. Sebastian.

"Wha... What happened?" asked the doctor slowly opening his eyes and lifting his upper body from the floor until he was in a sitting position, with his back resting again on the wall.

"We didn't die, man!" answered Sebastian. Spencer was surprised to see a smile on the young man's face. The smelly guy, though smiling, was holding his arm close to his body.

Spencer then felt the sticky warm liquid going down the side of his head.

"You're bleeding again" informed Linda in between sobs.

Reid nodded and asked: "Are you okay?"

"My wrist hurts like hell, but at least, we're still alive" offered Linda, tiredly smiling.

Just then, the elevator's doors were pried open.

"Are you, guys, ready to get out of here?" asked a smiling Derek Morgan.

A huge wave of relief bathed every corner, every fiber, every muscle in Spencer Reid's body.

"I guess your friends did a good job after all" said Sebastian, slowly rising to his feet.

Reid smiled and said: "Yes, they did."

"Ladies first" said Morgan, helping Linda out of the elevator, where several MTs were waiting with their stretchers.

Then, it was Sebastian's turn to leave the enclose compartment. Two paramedics helped him on the stretcher and took him out of the building.

"Are you ready to go, kid?" asked Morgan, with a hand on Reid's shoulder, helping him to his feet.

"I think so" answered Spencer stepping out of the elevator.

Agent McFay came running towards them, with Morgan's phone in his hand. The phone was ringing.

"You forgot this."

"Thanks" answered Derek taking the phone. He looked at its display and offered it to Reid. "I guess it's for you."

Spencer took the phone and answered the call. "Reid."

"_Reid, how are you? Why aren't you answering your phone?"_ Hotch's worried voice asked on the other end.

"I'm fine. My battery is dead" said Reid, answering both questions.

"_Okay, we'll see you at the hospital."_

"Hotch, I'm fine. I don't need to go to the hospital" said the young man unconvincingly. Morgan chuckled by his side, knowing that the boy was fighting a losing battle.

"_Reid, hospital, now."_

"Okay, fine." Spencer accepted his defeat.

"_And Reid?"_ added Hotch.

"Yes."

"_From now on, use the stairs. It's an order."_

"Will do, sir." Spencer Reid smiled even though his boss couldn't see him.

"_See you at the hospital."_ Then, Aaron Hotchner hung up.

Reid gave the phone back to Morgan.

"Let's go, kid" said Derek walking towards the exit. Then, he noticed that Spencer was still in his spot, patting his pockets frantically as if looking for something.

"Are you OK, Reid?" asked Morgan.

"Mmm, I forgot my wallet on the 18th floor" explained Spencer looking at him with two big pleading eyes filled with innocence. "Would you go for it?"

Morgan looked at him, as if he was asking him to go to the Moon. Derek Morgan would do anything for his friend, but after the hellish five hours they had had, he just wanted to get as far away from that building as possible.

"You're kidding me, right?"

Then, a broad smile appeared on Spencer's lips: "Yes, I am." Morgan chuckled and placed an arm over the younger man's shoulders.

"Let's get you out of here, smart ass."

The two FBI agents followed by some paramedics left behind the sea of officers and agents who were in charge of clearing the scene.

* * *

**Strayer University - Exterior**

"After five hours of unbearable tension, the nightmare of the three young people trapped inside the elevator got to an end. Thanks to the impeccable work of the FBI and the SWAT teams, tonight we can go to bed knowing there's one less bad guy out there. For IKY'dU News, I'm Ali Gray Gibson. Back to studios."

* * *

**AND NOW IT'S OVER**

**Sorry, guys, for messing with you! I'm mean, I know! **

**Thanks to the ones that read the last chapter and had to wait one hour to read this part! (PinkHimeLacus, ArmedWithAComputer, donttouch, lolyncut and criminalxxxmindsxxxfreak - Thanks for reviewing and sorry... Don't hate me!)**

**Thanks to the IKY'dU galaxy and CMAli for letting me use their names.**

**Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's been six months and it's finally over. Thanks for always reading and reviewing! Love you and see you next time!**


End file.
